The Oberlin Yeomen finished the 2005-06 season last Saturday with a loss at Earlham College. Oberlin hoped to finish the season with a win, but the Quakers had other plans.

Oberlin fell behind early in the season finale, trailing by 12 points just over nine minutes into the game. The Yeomen cut the lead to three with just under three minutes to play in the first half, but couldn’t manage to get any closer by halftime.

Earlham scored seven quick points to push their lead to 10. Facing a double-digit deficit in the closing seconds of the first half, Oberlin got a much needed break when junior Quinton Spencer hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the first half. The Yeomen went to the locker room with Earlham leading 33-26.

Unfortunately, Oberlin was not able to build any momentum during the second half following the buzzer beater. Earlham used a 13-0 run over the first three-and-a-half minutes of the second half to put the nail in the coffin. The Yeomen were unable to build any momentum of their own, and did not come within 16 points of Earlham for the remainder of the game. Oberlin lost by a final score of 81-60.

Spencer finished the game with his eighth double-double this season. He had 19 points and 10 rebounds. First-year Brad Spelich added 21 points and six rebounds.

The loss made the Yeomen 2-22 and 2-12 in NCAC play. While the record leaves much to be desired, there is a silver lining when we look toward the future of OC men’s basketball. Every player on the Oberlin roster is eligible to return for the 2006-07 season, which hopefully will lead to an increase in veteran leadership on the team. Also, Oberlin will undoubtedly gain some quality first-years.

Oberlin has nowhere to go but up next season. With another year of growth in skills for the team and with another year to bond, the Yeomen could become a team to be reckoned with in the NCAC next season.

“We have a solid group of guys here and we are young,” said first-year forward Mike Loll. “With a little help from some recruits, we should be a contender in the NCAC next season.  Next year we will have a deeper bench and will be able to keep up with the intensity that we play with when we can bring fresh guys off the bench.”

Not only does Oberlin have a solid chance to improve next season, but for years to come. Three of the five Yeomen starters are first-years and they will likely be more competitive in the NCAC over the next three seasons. Though the 05-06 season may have been somewhat of a disappointment, expect much better things from the Oberlin Yeomen on the hard-court next season.