This past weekend, the Oberlin men’s basketball team began its season by hosting the Air National Guard Tip-Off Classic Championship tournament.
The Yeomen opened the competition with a hard-fought victory over the Lawrence University Vikings Friday. Oberlin came out strong, with fourth-year guard Yuuki Okubo hitting a three-pointer, giving the Crimson and Gold a 10–4 early advantage.
Oberlin was able to capitalize on Okubo’s momentum; key players like second-year center Dut Lual stepped up to give the team a 45–34 lead going into half.
However, the Vikings were not out of the fight yet, and they came back from the brief intermission on fire. They quickly went on a 15–2 run that decreased Oberlin’s lead to a mere 53–51 at 14:03.
However, the Yeomen were undeterred. Fourth-year guard Will Bousquette III drained a big three-pointer that put Oberlin back in the driver’s seat. Bousquette’s basket was quickly followed by a lay-up from fourth-year guard Andrew Gannon that cemented the score back in Oberlin’s favor at 64–54 with nine minutes left in the game.
The Yeomen remained in sync and coasted to a victory over the Vikings with a final score of 78–69.
Oberlin basketball’s weekend was far from over, though. The victory over Lawrence guaranteed the team a trip to the tournament final against the Washington & Jefferson College Presidents the following day.
The game against the Presidents bore many similarities to the previous match-up.
Once again, the Yeomen came out very strong and clearly dominated the first half, with Bousquette making a jump-shot to carry the team to a 39–27 lead heading into half-time.
Even well into the second half, with 16 minutes left to play, third-year guard Zach Smith nailed a crucial three-pointer to expand the lead to 20 points, 51–31.
However, Washington & Jefferson was not down for the count and went on a 22–4 run over the following nine minutes to shrink the Yeomen’s lead down to 55–53 with 7:22 left in the game.
The outcome came down to the wire, with both teams battling it out until the final buzzer. Second-year guard JJ Gray made a jump-shot with thirty seconds left in the game to secure Oberlin’s lead.
The Presidents then missed a key shot that was rebounded by third-year center Milun Micanovic. Micanovic was then fouled with less than three seconds remaining and missed his shot, giving the Presidents a chance at a last-second half-court prayer shot to win it. The Presidents missed, and Oberlin emerged victorious with a final score of 64–63.
“I think getting good momentum at the start of a season is huge,” Gray wrote to the Review. “Wins get team morale up, leading to better practices and preparation for future games.”
A clear star of the tournament was Yuuki Okubo. Scoring 36 points over the two contests and recording the fourth double-double of his career in the game against Lawrence University, it’s no surprise that his performance in the Classic earned him NCAC Player of the Week honors.
“I appreciate the recognition, and shoutout to all my guys, but we are just getting started,” Okubo said. “[There’s a lot] more to come.”
The Yeomen return to action this Saturday, Nov. 16 at Waynesburg University.
