Hiram, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's basketball team erased a nine-point half-time deficit to take a one point lead with 42 seconds to go, but in the end it was the Hiram College Terriers who earned a 69-68 win over the Yeomen on Saturday afternoon at Price Gymnasium.
Eli Silverman-Lloyd's jumper with under a minute to play gave the Yeomen its lone lead of the game at 68-67, but Hiram's Jalen Kirksey responded with a pair of free throws to put the Terriers back out in front for good.
Oberlin had its chances to reclaim the lead, but turned the ball over on its next possession. However, Kirksey would later miss the front-end of a one-on-one to give the Yeomen new life. With eight seconds to go,
Christian Fioretti had an open look from the far wing, but his shot was short. The Terriers would go to the line again and miss a free throw leaving the Yeomen one last chance with a half-court prayer that was not answered.
Sophomore
Andre Campbell led the Yeomen with 20 points and seven rebounds, while
Joshua Friedkin added 12 points.
Jordan Armstrong matched Silverman-Lloyd with nine points in the setback.
The Terriers led by 12 points early in the second half, but the Yeomen methodically chipped away at the lead. A 3-pointer from
Evan Suppa at the 13:22 mark cut the Terriers' cushion down to 49-45 and
Charles Tiedemann would follow with a jumper to shrink the lead down to two.
Hiram would extend its advantage back out to eight, 63-55, with just over five minutes left to play, but the Yeomen kept coming. A triple-hit from Friedkin and a jumper in the paint from Campbell made it a 67-66 game with 1:26 left to setup the nail-biting finish.
The first half was completely controlled by the Terriers as they built up a 34-22 lead before settling for a 37-28 margin at the intermission.
The Yeomen shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the floor, but cashed in just 14-of-21 free throws for a 66.7 percent success rate. Hiram checked in at 37.9 percent (22-of-58) shooting, but was much more efficient at the free throw line where it finished 19-of-22 for an 86.4 percent clip.
The loss dropped Oberlin to 8-9 overall and 2-8 in the NCAC. The Terriers remained unbeaten on their home floor where they are now 7-0. On the year, Hiram is 11-6 overall and 7-3 in the league.
Oberlin is back in action on Wednesday night as it welcomes Denison University to Philips Gym for an 8 p.m. conference clash.
