Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's basketball team hung tough with the College of Wooster, but in the end it was the visiting Scots who earned an, 86-76, victory over the Yeomen on Saturday afternoon at Philips Gym.
 
The Scots used a sharp-shooting first half, hitting 8-of-16 triple-tries to build up a 45-34 lead going into the intermission. Wooster would cool off in the second session as the Yeomen outscored them 42-41 in the period, but it wasn't enough to threaten the final outcome.
 
Junior guard Jack Poyle led all scorers, finishing two points shy of his career high with 27 points on 8-of-11 shooting, which included a 4-of-6 performance from beyond the arc. The Avon, Ohio, native was also 7-of-8 at the charity stripe and he helped the Yeomen effort with seven rebounds.
 
Poyle's backcourt-mate and classmate Zach Meyers dropped in a career-best 15 points and matched his previous career-high with seven assists. Senior center Randy Ollie added 15 points and eight boards, while Nathan Cohen finished with 10 points – all of which came in the first half.
 
The opening stanza was nip-and-tuck throughout with Oberlin leading 19-15 with just under 12 minutes to go. Wooster would respond with a 10-0 run, until Cohen's layup at the 7:50 mark put an end to that to make it a 25-21 Scots' lead.
 
However, the Scots regained control and built their lead to as many as 12, hitting three of their eight first-half threes over the final 5:38 to take an 11-point lead at the half.
 
The Yeomen fought their way back to within five, 47-42, less than three minutes into the second half, but the Scots answered right back with a 12-2 run over their next five possessions to quickly extend their margin back out to 15 at 59-44.
 
Oberlin would get within 10, 59-49, with 13:36 left to play, but the Scots would never surrender their double-digit lead until just 19 seconds remained in the game.
 
Wooster ripped down 16 of their 39 total rebounds on the offensive end, which resulted in them out-scoring the Yeomen 20-9 on second-chance points. The Scots bench bunch also bested its Oberlin counterparts 32-4.
 
Oberlin shot 44.1-percent (26-of-59) from the floor, while Wooster checked in at a 46.2-percent (30-of-65) clip. In the second half the Scots went just 3-of-13 (23.1%) from 3-point range.
 
The loss dropped Oberlin back to the .500 mark at 6-6 overall, however, the Yeomen are now 2-4 in NCAC play. The Scots head home at 9-4 and 5-1 in league action.
 
The Yeomen will play game two of their three-game homestand on Wednesday night when Allegheny comes to town for a 7:30 p.m. showdown.