The Oberlin men’s basketball team entered their two week break during finals period with a 65-76 loss at Wilmington College on Dec. 13. Despite the loss, the Yeomen still looked like a formidable force in the league. The team’s two victories put their performance on par with that of the previous campaign, an achievement that indicated that the team was taking steps forward. The following weeks would show that the team could fight through adversity despite complications that included injury problems.

After the short winter break, the team got back to work on the courts and in the training rooms, in preparation for the second half of the basketball season. Oberlin resumed the season against Adrian College on Dec. 30. The men from Adrian College proved too much for the Yeomen, beating them 77-40 on home ground.

After that game, Oberlin lost some of its key players to injury and consequentially lost a quartet of games. The effect of these injuries on the team was acknowledged by Head Coach Isaiah Cavaco.

“Our inside players are very valuable to us and losing them to injury has had a negative effect on our post presence,” Cavaco said.

Senior captain Quinton Spencer and first-year Jerome Goings, who have put in some quality minutes for the team, were out with injury. The team was already handicapped by the loss of promising first-year Joe Blasher who is out for the year with an Achilles’ tendon injury. Without three of its key players, the Oberlin team was unable to claim any victories, losing to Carnegie Mellon University 65-91, Wittenberg University 41-71, Anderson University 72-73 and Denison University 48-75.

Spencer returned to the squad for the game against Kenyon College on Jan. 13. Spencer showed why he is one of the top players in the league, scoring 17 points as he led the team to its third victory of the season, pulling out a close game 63-62. After that game, more injury trouble hit the team. First-year Dylan Venable and sophomore Omari Hall missed a game each, while sophomore captain Noah Goldman is out for the season.

Back to a depleted squad, the team continued to fight despite losing their next four games. They dropped conference games to Allegheny 68-93, Earlham 59-76, Ohio Wesleyan 59-96 and Wabash 61-66. Their record dropped to 3-16 on the season and 2-8 in conference play.

Despite these losses, Cavaco and his men stayed mentally strong, going into the next game on Jan. 31 with determination. The team members were rewarded for their perseverance with an 82-76 victory over Denison University in Philips Gymnasium, improving their record to 3-8 in conference play and bringing the team back into playoff contention. The victory was followed by a disappointing 74-82 loss on Feb. 3 away at Hiram, a game which Oberlin desperately needed to win.

The Yeomen went up against Allegheny College at home on Feb. 7 in the first game of the spring semester. The return of the students provided a much needed support for the Yeomen, but it was not enough to pull out a victory. The team put up a good fight but size mismatch and foul trouble hurt Oberlin as they lost 69-74 to Allegheny.

Cavaco recognized the effort of his players: “Over stretches when we executed our plays, we did very well. Unfortunately we were out-hustled and got beat up inside.”

With that loss, the Yeomen stand at 4-18 for the season and 3-10 in conference play. The team returns to action away at Kenyon College on Feb. 10.