Box Score

Oberlin, Ohio – In a game that featured 14 ties and 16 lead changes, it was the Oberlin College men's basketball team that ended on top as it held on to beat Earlham College 71-68, earning its first North Coast Athletic Conference win of the season.

Oberlin, which had eight different players with at least four points, was led by Josh Merritt and Andrew Fox with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Merritt did nearly all of his damage at the free throw line as he made 13-of-16 charity tosses – including a pair in the final five seconds to help preserve the win. Rookie Johnathan Nelson added 12 points and after missing the last four games with an injury, sophomore Dahsan Gary returned to the lineup and contributed nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.

“This was a great win that we were able to gut out in the end,” Head Coach Isaiah Cavaco said. “I am happy for the guys for getting it done today and for how hard they have worked all season.”

The Yeomen led 69-65 with 16 seconds left to play, but Earlham's A.J. Sutherlin connected on one of his seven triple-hits on the day as he rose up from the far wing and knocked down the shot with a man in his face, but just six seconds remained on the clock. A quick foul sent Merritt to the line where he calmly made both freebies for the three-point lead. Earlham's final chance came on Ryan Taylor's long distance heave that found nothing but glass to clinch the Yeomen win.

The victory snapped a nine-game skid for the Yeomen, whose last win came all the way back on December 11 against Alma. It also extended the Quakers' losing streak to 12 games.

Oberlin (5-14, 1-9 NCAC) held a 38-31 cushion at the break, but a 7-0 Earlham spurt to start the second half tied the game for the eighth time with 17:04 remaining. From that point on, no more than four points would separate the two foes.

Earlham (3-16, 1-9 NCAC), which was led by Sutherlin's game-high 27 points, shot 46.8-percent (22-of-47) from the floor. Oberlin was even more impressive than that as it dialed in on 23-of-40 shots for a 57.5-percent success rate.

The Yeomen benefited from a large discrepancy at the free throw line as they hoisted 32 charity tosses – cashing in 24 for 75-percent, while the Quakers went to the stripe just 12 times – making 10 for 83.3-percent.

Oberlin also controlled the interior as it out-rebounded Earlham 30-18 and had a 36-8 advantage in points in the paint.

The Yeomen will look to make it two in a row when they travel out to Kenyon College on Wednesday night. Tip-time is set for 7:30 p.m.