Waynesburg, PA - Playing for the first time in 620 days, the rust was evident for the Oberlin College men's basketball team but in the end it didn't matter as the Yeomen were able to outlast the Yellow Jackets of Waynesburg University by the score of 45-42 to open the 2021-22 season. 

Senior transfer Darien Knowles was the only Yeoman to reach double figures as he finished with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting while Dimitrije Radusinovic and Wolf Moser each added nine points. Aidan Oliver chipped in with eight points in 16 minutes of work off the Yeomen bench. 

The Yeomen's last points of the game came with 5:27 left to play as a Dorde Otasevic layup gave Oberlin its largest lead of the game at 45-36 and they were able to play just enough defense down the stretch to hold on for the victory. However, the Yellow Jackets had a few chances to tie it in the closing moments as Jansen Knotts had a triple-try go off the mark and Matt Popeck's attempt at the buzzer was also wayward to allow the Yeomen to head home happy. 

The opening half was nip and tuck throughout as no more than four points separated the two foes throughout the 20-minute session. Back-to-back triples from Moser and Radusinovic gave Oberlin a 15-14 advantage with 5:42 left in the opening frame. Another long-range connection from Radusinovic later made it 20-16 but the teams headed into the intermission level at 20-20. 

In the second session it was more of the same with Oberlin creating just enough separation as three straight points from Oliver extended the lead out to 43-34 with 6:04 left and luckily it was enough to secure the victory. 

The Yeomen shot 16-of-47 from the floor for just a 34-percent success rate, while Waynesburg posted a 30.4-percent clip with 17 makes on 56 attempts. 

Oberlin will continue its season-opening three-game road trip at Alma College on Saturday afternoon. Tip-time is set for 3 p.m.