Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's basketball team earned a 59-52 wire-to-wire victory over the visiting Denison University Big Red on Wednesday night at Philips Gym.
 
Oberlin's defense forced the Big Red into a tough shooting night as they finished at 33.9 percent (19-of-56), which included a 5-of-29 (17.2%) performance in the first half.
 
Sophomore Andre Campbell led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and he also ripped down a team-high eight rebounds. Eli Silverman-Lloyd registered his 11^th double-digit showing of the season as he cashed in 14 points, while sophomore Joshua Friedkin chipped in with 11 points and six boards.
 
Despite the Big Red's shooting woes in the first half, Oberlin held just a 21-16 lead at the intermission. A traditional 3-point play from Campbell made it 16-8 with 9:20 left in the frame, but the Big Red answered back with a mini 5-0 spurt to cut the margin down to three. The Yeomen would extend the edge back out to seven before settling for a five-point lead after 30 minutes of play.
 
The Yeomen came out of the locker room hot to start the second half, using a 16-5 run to build up a 37-22 advantage.  Three consecutive free throws from Nile Godfrey ballooned the cushion out to 18, but the Big Red slowly chipped away at the lead.
 
Denison would get within 10 two times during the midway portion of the half, but Silverman-Lloyd had an answer each time – once hitting a 3-pointer before following with a jumper in the lane.
 
However, the Big Red was eventually able crack the double-digit barrier. With just over five minutes to play, an old fashioned 3-point by Matt Doyle had the Yeomen edge down to just seven at 51-44.
 
Oberlin was clinging to a 52-47 lead with 71 seconds left to expire, but sophomore Evan Suppa drained a clutch 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Oberlin a little breathing room. Denison was ultimately forced to foul down the stretch to try and extend the game, but Friedkin would sink five of six charity tosses to put the game away for the Yeomen.
 
The win was the first for the Yeomen against the Big Red since December 10, 2012 when they gutted out a 52-51 triumph.
 
Jack Coulter was the lone Denison player in double figures as he finished with 10 points. He and the rest of his teammates head back to Granville with a record of 10-8 overall and 6-5 in the NCAC.
 
Oberlin, which shot 44.4 percent (20-of-45) in the win, is now an even 9-9 as it improved to 3-8 in league play.
 
The Yeomen will be back on the road on Saturday afternoon as they travel south to Ohio Wesleyan University. Tip-time is set for 3 p.m.