Crawfordsville, Indiana – Even behind a strong second half push, the Oberlin College men's basketball team fell to Wabash on Saturday afternoon. The 71-60 loss set the Yeomen back to 13-12 on the season, and 5-11 in conference play. This marks just the second time since 2006 that the Yeomen have finished the regular season with back-to-back winning records.
 
Andrew Gannon tallied ten points to Oberlin's total, adding another four rebounds and three steals. Will Bousquette III chipped in nine points, while Rob Magner added eight and six rebounds. Combining for ten rebounds JJ Gray and Milun Micanovic added in the defensive efforts.
 
After a slow start to the game, the Yeomen saw a rare but incredible effort on their offense. Micanovic put Oberlin on the board with a three-pointer off a clutch pass from Yuuki Okubo. Zach Smith continued the sharp shooting a three from long to bring cut the deficit to one. Oberlin hit their third and fourth-straight triples off the hands of Buousquette, followed by a continuation of threes from Asaan Snipes-Rea, Magner, and Gannon.
 
Magner scored the first points not to come from behind the arc, going 2-2 from the free throw line. Although hot hands from three, the lack of points in the paint caught up to the Yeomen, who faced a 15-point deficit at the half.
 
Micanovic began the half yet again with a triple, before Okubo finally scored the team's first points in the paint. Still facing an uphill battle, Matt Andreopoulos attacked the seems of the Little Giant defense to bring the score to 53-42. Gannon's three brought the lead within nine, as the Yeomen continued to build momentum. As time dwindled, the Yeomen faced a six-point gap with just one minute to play. Playing the fouls game, Wabash converted 5-6 free throws to clinch the win from Oberlin.
 
"I am really proud of our guys for finding a way to qualify for the NCAC Tournament again this year." Head Coach Shiva Senthil adds to his post-game presser, "They were able to overcome a ton of adversity and found a way to play our best basketball at the right time. We have been working towards this goal of postseason play all season and are very excited to play a really good Wooster team on Tuesday."
 
Oberlin will spend no time dwelling on this loss as they have a quick turnaround for the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. Making the bracket as a six-seed, Oberlin will play No. 3 Wooster on Tuesday, February 25 on the road. The Crimson and Gold and the Fighting Scots are set to tip off at 7 p.m.
 
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 accessed on TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.