Thousand Oaks, California – Winning game one of the Cal Lutheran Holiday Classic, the Oberlin College men's basketball team made a huge comeback to defeat Messiah 85-64. Down by as much as 18 points, four Yeomen finished in double-digits to lift the Crimson and Gold to 8-3 (0-3) on the season.
 
Leading the pack, JJ Gray accounted for 20 points, shooting 9-12 from the free throw line and 5-8 from the field. Yuuki Okubo finished with a double-double, tallying 11 points and ten assists. This marks the fourth time in his career that he's earned a double-double, all coming on assists and points.
 
Zach Smith and Andrew Gannon also finished in double-digits, with Smith knocking down a trio of three-pointers for a total of 15 points, while Gannon had 11 points and six rebounds.
 
Defensively, Milun Micanovic dominated the boards with a team-high 15 rebounds. Micanovic finishes his fourth-straight game with at least ten rebounds.
 
After Gannon grabbed an early layup to start the game, Smith hit back-to-back triples to tie the game at 13-13. Messiah responded with 14 points, broken up only by a layup and a free-throw from Rob Magner. The Falcons continued to fly and drove the score to 40-22 at 5:47 in the first half.
 
Oberlin regained their momentum just one minute later when Messiah turned over the ball in transition. Okubo passed down the court to Micanovic who slammed the ball in the basket for a signature dunk to reignite the offense. Gannon drilled a three-pointer in the ensuing play, followed by a triple of Gray just a minute later. Gray hit three-straight free-throws to close the gap to three at 41-38 ahead of halftime.
 
While the Falcons scored the first points of the second period, the Crimson and Gold continued their momentum of the first half, taking over the game 46-45. Playing steady ahead of Messiah, Adam Navarre hit a shot from long before Okubo drove for a layup to extend their lead to ten. Navarre hit another triple just minutes later as the Yeomen cruised to 71-56 with 8:13 remaining. With a victory certain, Alasan Njie-Morgan gave Oberlin their largest lead of the night at 23 points with a show from the charity stripe. Matt Andreopoulos put the nail in the coffin with a jumper to close out the 85-64 win.
 
The gritty, come-from-behind victory gives Oberlin all the momentum they need headed into tomorrow's matchup against host school Messiah. Taking on their third nationally recognized team this season, the Yeomen tip-off against the #25 Falcons at 4 p.m. ET.

Fans can keep up with their favorite teams on Instagram, Facebook, X, or TikTok, and watch all the home matches live online. The Crimson and Gold's home broadcasts can be access on TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.