Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's basketball team put forth a strong effort, but in the end the No. 3 Tigers of Wittenberg proved to be too much as they pulled away to defeat the Yeomen, 77-56, on Saturday afternoon at Philips Gym.
 
Sophomore Joshua Friedkin led Oberlin with 17 points, while Eli Silverman-Lloyd chipped in with 11 to complete the double-digit point producers for the Yeomen. The Tigers had five players in double figures, led by 16 points from Jacob Bertemes.
 
The Yeomen had the undefeated Tigers on their heels throughout the first half as the opening 30 minutes featured 12 lead changes and four ties along the way.
 
Oberlin grabbed an early 7-3 lead, but the Tigers rallied back to claim a 15-11 cushion. Oberlin would go back out in front on back-to-back jumpers from Andre Campbell to make it 20-19 at the 6:55 mark. No more than three points would separate the two foes for the remainder of the half. A 3-point play by Campbell made it a 30-29 Oberlin advantage, but the Tigers closed the stanza on a mini 4-0 spurt to take a 33-30 lead into the intermission.
 
The Tigers were clinging to a 47-42 lead with 14:23 left to play in the game and the Yeomen remained within striking distance to the midway point of the second half as it was just a 57-50 game with 9:42 remaining. Unfortunately, Wittenberg would pull away with a 13-0 run over the next six minutes of action to squash any threat of an Oberlin upset.
 
Oberlin's defense held the Tigers to just 36.7 percent (11-of-30) shooting in the first half, but Wittenberg was much more efficient in the second half, checking in at a 60 percent clip with 15 makes on 25 shots. The Yeomen finished the game at 39.3 percent, hitting on 22-of-56 shots.
 
Wittenberg used its distinct size advantage to out-rebound the Yeomen 42-25, which included a 10-4 margin on the offensive end.
 
The loss marked the third straight for the Yeomen as they fell back to 9-12 overall and 3-11 in the NCAC. The Tigers remained unblemished at 21-0 and 14-0 in the NCAC.
 
Oberlin will look to get back on track when it travels to Kenyon College on Wednesday night. Tip-time is set for 8 p.m.