Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's basketball team dropped a tight 64-60 decision to the visiting Wittenberg University Tigers on Saturday afternoon at Philips Gym.
The loss marked the sixth straight setback for the Yeomen, who are now 2-8 in games decided by seven points or less this season.
The slow tempo was exactly what Oberlin wanted throughout the 40-minute affair but in the end the Tigers did just enough to escape town with the win as they moved to 8-9 overall and 6-4 in the NCAC.
Aidan Oliver spearheaded the Yeomen charge off the bench, posting a career-high 14 points to match senior
Wolf Moser.
Dorde Otasevic added 10 points in just over 18 minutes of action while
Darien Knowles chipped nine points and a team-high four assists while also tying Moser for a team-best six rebounds.
A 3-pointer from Moser with just over five minutes to play in the game had the Yeomen within four, 54-50, and on their next trip down the floor, Oberlin would even the count.
Asaan Snipes-Rea would split a pair of three throws but Oliver would clean up the mess and pick up an RBI as he put the rebound back in before tacking on a free throw to level the score.
Inside the three-minute mark, a corner 3-ball from Knowles had the Yeomen in front 57-56 but five straight Wittenberg points made it a two-possession game with 90 seconds to go. After a few empty trips for both sides, Knowles split a pair of three throws with 8.8 ticks still to expire but the Tigers would make three of four freebies in the final seconds to finish off the win.
Four minutes after the opening tip, the game was tied at 7-7 but at the midway point of the first half Wittenberg built up a 20-12 advantage. A mini 7-2 Yeomen spurt had the deficit down to three, 22-19, but Wittenberg ultimately headed into the intermission with a 29-23 cushion as after Otasevic's would-be put-back buzzer beater was waived off following a video review.
The Yeomen's long-range woes continued as they finished 7-of-28 (25%) from beyond the arc, but were 15-of-21 (71.4%) from inside as they finished the game with a 44.9 percent (22-of-49) success rate overall. The Tigers, who shot 12 more free throws than the home Yeomen, were 45.7 percent (21-of-46) and 17-of-25 (68%) at the stripe. Oberlin netted nine freebies on its 13 tries for a 69.2 percent clip.
The Yeomen dropped back to 5-13 on the year and 3-9 in the NCAC. They are back in action Wednesday night at Ohio Wesleyan University. Tip-time is set for 8 p.m.
