Shock and Awe: Yeomen Enact Revenge on Depauw
February 17, 2012
The men’s basketball team broke even this week. The Yeomen downed DePauw University on Saturday, Feb. 11, at home before losing a close game against Hiram College on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Both contests were highly competitive, with a last second win over DePauw highlighting the action of the week.
North Coast Athletic Conference foe DePauw entered the game with confidence; the knowledge of an earlier 69–37 victory against Oberlin in January was still fresh. When Oberlin fell to a 19–13 disadvantage early in the first half, it seemed as though history might repeat itself.
However, strong play from first-year guards Jesse Neugarten and Miles Gueno contributed to a scoring run that would leave them with a 26–25 lead at the end of the half. DePauw seemed to lose confidence, especially since the bleachers were packed with Oberlin fans in Philips Gym.
The second half was tightly contested. Oberlin and DePauw exchanged leads, with the difference between the scores never exceeding three points. For Oberlin, it was a strong team effort, spearheaded by juniors Charlie Crawford-Silva and Andrew Fox, who tied for a team-high of 10 points each. This team effort did not fall short, and the crowd cheered as Oberlin earned a hard fought 49–48 win over DePauw.
The Yeomen experienced adversity on the road later in the week as they visited NCAC rival Hiram College. Hiram entered the contest 14–10, aiming to maintain a superior conference record. The game was defined by solid shooting from both teams.
Oberlin kept the score relatively close throughout most of the first half, once leaving Hiram up only 19–18. The Terriers would end the half with a strong scoring run, however, leaving the midway tally at 37–24. A slightly superior rebounding tally, as well as a stronger showing from its bench ultimately allowed Hiram to outpace Oberlin en route to a 77–66 win.
There were several positive achievements despite the loss. Crawford-Silva continued his strong week with nine points on the day. Sophomore guard Emmanuel Lewis also contributed nine points to the setback. The highlight of the game was Fox’s sensational performance, which resulted in a career high of 30 points, while also assisting Oberlin with its best overall shooting percentage for the year at 50 percent.
Oberlin will resume play with its final game of the season against conference foe Wabash College at home, on Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. If the Yeomen top Wabash, they will finish the season with one the highest win totals in recent history for the program.
