Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's basketball team rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit to take a 70-69 lead with 98 seconds to play but the visiting Hiram College Terriers came through in crunch time to leave town with a 76-70 victory on Saturday night at Philips Gym.
 
A Darien Knowles layup with 1:38 left to play had the Yeomen out front for the first time since it was 7-6 two minutes into the game. However, Kevin Beans Jr. responded with a traditional 3-point play and after Oberlin missed two 3-point tries on its ensuing trip down the floor, Brodgie Gordon would finish in the paint for the Terriers to make it a two-possession game with 21 ticks left to expire.
 
Knowles would look to extend the game but his corner 3-point attempt was off the mark to allow the Terriers to hang on for the win. The final miss was emblematic of how the whole night went for the Yeomen from distance as they ended just 7-of-30 (23.3%) from beyond the arc.
 
Junior Dorde Otasevic led the Yeomen charge with a career-high 28 points before he fouled out. The Niksic, Montenegro, native finished 6-of-10 from the field and was 12-of-14 at the charity stripe. He also ripped down a team-high seven rebounds in the setback. Fellow countryman Dimitrije Radusinovic added 18 points, while Asaan Snipes-Rea chipped in with eight.
 
One of three Radusinovic triple-hits made it a 14-12 Hiram advantage with 12:57 left to play in the first half but the Terriers would grab their first double digit lead of the game a mere two minutes later with an 8-0 burst to make it 22-12. The first-half lead for the visitors would swell to as many as 14 before they ultimately settled for a 42-31 cushion at the intermission.
 
The game appeared all but over as Hiram built the differential out to 55-36 less than six minutes into the second session and they still led by 17, 68-51, with under seven minutes to play before Oberlin unleashed its furious comeback bid.
 
During a near four-minute scoring drought by the Terriers, the Yeomen ripped off a 13-0 run that featured a combined 11 points from the "Montenegro Maulers" to trim the gap down to four at the 3:32 mark.
 
A Hiram free throw would finally get them back on the board but a pair of Knowles' layups book-ending a pair of Otasevic free throws had the Yeomen up but one only to see it slip away in the end.
 
In a game that was officiated very tightly with a combined 39 fouls, the Yeomen shot 17-of-23 (73.9%) at the stripe while the Terriers were 20-of-29 for a 69 percent clip. From the floor, Oberlin posted 40.4 (23-of-57) percent clip, while Hiram finished at 47.2 (25-of-53) percent.
 
The outcome marked the third straight loss for the Yeomen as they fell back to 5-10 overall and 3-6 in the NCAC. The Terriers, who lost last night to Wabash, are now 5-9 and 2-6 in league play.
 
The Yeomen are back in action on Wednesday night as they host Allegheny College on Wednesday night at 8 p.m.