Yeomen One Step Closer to Playoffs

Erickson Andrews

Last Saturday the Yeomen stunned DePauw University with a last-second victory on DePauw’s home court.

With only 14 seconds left in the game, Oberlin called a timeout. “The game was tied, and [Head] Coach [Isaiah] Cavaco drew up a play to get me the ball down low. I had been beating them in the paint all day. I am glad I could pull through when it counted,” said first-year Randy Ollie, who made the go-ahead basket with virtually no time left on the clock. “That was my first college buzzer beater. Hopefully there are many more to come.”

The last-second win over the fourth-ranked team in the North Coast Athletic Conference set the Yeomen up for a “win-and-you’re-in” game against the eighth-ranked Hiram College Terriers to make it in to the NCAC tournament. With 10 teams in the conference, only the top eight make it to the tournament. The Yeomen would have to beat Hiram to take over the number eight spot.

The Yeomen came out with strong energy for their senior night this Wednesday against the Terriers. Led by lone senior Andrew Fox, the Yeomen battled for the lead throughout the first half. The Terriers seemed to be in control of the game, with a three-point lead as the first half wound down. However, on the next trip down the floor, sophomore Austin Little drilled a three-pointer and was fouled on the play, sending him to the line for a rare four-point-play opportunity.

“I knew since I got my feet set on the shot it had a good chance of going in. Then he [a Terriers defender] hit me on the arm on my follow-through as I saw the ball go through the basket,” Little said. “Everyone went crazy. It was a huge momentum builder for us.” He went on to make the free throw and send the Yeomen into the locker room with a one-point lead.

The Yeomen carried the momentum through the beginning of the second half and amassed a lead of 19 points with approximately 10 minutes remaining. Hiram would not stop fighting, though, and were able to narrow the lead to six points with under a minute to go. With the Terriers aggressively fouling to keep the game alive, the Yeomen made all of their free-throws, preventing Hiram from getting any closer. The Yeomen held on to win 59-50. This victory almost assures the Yeomen a post-season berth, as long as they can handle business in their final game this Saturday at Wabash College.