Granville, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's basketball team opened up North Coast Athletic Conference play with a come-from-behind 77-72 victory at Denison University on Wednesday night.
 
The Yeomen trailed by as many as 13 in the second half but came charging back to start conference play on the right side of the ledger. Oberlin was facing a 53-40 deficit with 11:30 left to play but an 18-5 burst tied the game at 58 with just under seven minutes to go. The run featured seven points from Andre Campbell and a game-tying layup from Christian Fioretti.
 
The first Oberlin lead of the night came on a driving layup by Joshua Friedkin at the 5:27 mark to put the Yeomen out in front, 60-59. Following a fastbreak layup by Fioretti to extend the margin out to three, the two foes would continue to trade buckets for an extended stretch.
 
In the final minute, the Yeomen called a timeout and drew up a play for senior Eli Silverman-Lloyd who rolled in a clutch 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it a 73-67 Oberlin advantage. The Big Red would answer with a pair of free throws but with the clock was not on their side as they were forced to foul and Friedkin would slam the door as he hit four charity tosses in the closing seconds to finish off the victory.
 
Campbell led the Yeomen with a game-high 23 points, while Fioretti added 16 points on an impressive 8-of-10 shooting performance to accompany his nine assists. Friedkin and Silverman-Lloyd chipped in with nine points apiece in the triumph.
 
The Big Red got off to a hot start, opening up a 15-3 lead in the early going but the Yeomen methodically worked their way back into the game. An 11-3 Oberlin run cut the deficit down to just four at 20-16 with just under nine minutes to go in the opening frame.
 
The Big Red would push the margin back out to 11, however, the Yeomen would not go away quietly as Oberlin got within six on three different occasions, including right at the end of the period as Nile Godfrey cashed in a 3-pointer from the far wing to beat the first-half horn to make it a 32-26 Denison advantage at the intermission.
 
Early in the second half the Yeomen cut the gap down to 37-35 but the Big Red would use a 16-5 run to open that 13-point lead before the Yeomen jumpstarted their comeback bid.
 
Oberlin shot 52.7 percent from the floor, hitting on 29-of-55 shot attempts, which included an efficient 6-of-10 showing from beyond the arc. OC also dialed in on 13-of-16 (81.3%) free throws. The Big Red checked in at even 50 percent with 27 makes on 54 shots.
 
Oberlin will step back out of conference play on Saturday with a road tilt at Otterbein University. Tip-time is set for 2 p.m.