Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's basketball team was unable to overcome a large first-half deficit as the visiting Scarlet Hawks of Illinois Institute of Technology held off the Yeomen, 95-82, on Sunday afternoon at Philips Gym.
The Yeomen had four players finish in double figures, led by freshman
Joshua Friedkin's career-high 18 points. Sophomore
Eric Holt added a career-best 15 points off the bench, while seniors
Jack Poyle and
Nathan Cohen chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
IIT had five players in double figures with guard Anthony Mosely Jr. leading the way with 20 points. Parker Joncus added 19 points as he hit five triples that went towards IIT's perfect 9-for-9 effort from beyond the arc in the game.
Oberlin trailed 11-10 five minutes into the contest, but IIT would rip off a 15-0 run that took just over three minutes to grab a 16-point lead with 11:43 left in the opening half.
The Yeomen couldn't stop the bleeding as the Scarlet Hawks ultimately went into the intermission with a comfortable 53-30 lead.
Oberlin played with a greater sense of urgency and energy in the second half, creating four steals on IIT's first four possessions of the frame.
A 3-pointer from Holt at the 16:45 mark had the gap down to 19, 55-36, but IIT would settle down to claim it largest lead of the game, 82-54, with just under seven minutes left to play.
The Yeomen wouldn't go away quietly as they put together a 19-5 run over the next four minutes to shrink the gap down to 12, 87-75, with 2:35 remaining in the game. The spurt featured six points from
Eli Silverman-Lloyd and five from Friedkin.
Unfortunately, the Yeomen would get no closer as IIT went 6-for-6 at the charity stripe to ice the game away.
The loss dropped Oberlin back to 1-3 on the year, while the Scarlet Hawks evened their record at 2-2.
OC shot 42.3 percent from the floor, hitting on 30-of-71 attempts, which included an 11-of-29 (37.9%) showing from beyond the arc. IIT checked in at a scorching 54.2 percent clip with 32 makes on 59 shots. The Scarlet Hawks also had the advantage at the free throw line where they went 22-of-28 (78.6%), while Oberlin finished 11-of-17 (64.7%).
The Yeomen will be back in action on Wednesday night as they travel south to Muskingum University for a 7 p.m. tilt.
