It’s better late than never. The Oberlin men’s basketball team started the season on the wrong foot, going 0-7, but finally put together a solid performance on Saturday to cap its first win of the season against Earlham College 68-59.

The win boosted the team’s conference record to an even 1-1. Head Coach Isaiah Cavaco was ecstatic about the team recording its first win.

“I am so proud of the way we brought our own intensity and energy to a road game,” said Cavaco.

As Cavaco predicted earlier in the season, Oberlin has begun to see improvement with each game as the players start to feel more comfortable on the court.

Oberlin was led by junior Mike Loll, who had a team high of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Jordan Beard scored 11 points, despite dislocating his shoulder in the first half.

Junior Omari Hall contributed 11 points but more important was his defensive contribution. “Omari did a great job guarding one of the best guards in the conference,” said Cavaco. Sophomore Jerome Goings added eight points for the night.

Nick Welsh, who had a game high 22 points, led Earlham.

Oberlin played outstanding defense, forcing Earlham to shoot from the outside by taking away the team’s normally dominant inside game. The Yeomen also used their advantage in quickness effectively to dictate the flow of the game.

“We ran a little different defensive strategy where we protected the paint a little bit more,” explained Cavaco. “They’re usually a zone team but we made enough shots early to take them out of their zone.”

The Yeomen shot a season best with 45.5 percent from the field, a large portion of them coming from fast-break points. The Yeomen out-rebounded Earlham because of their compact defensive strategy — an impressive feat considering Earlham’s size advantage.

Oberlin led for most of the first half. The Yeomen had a 10-point lead early but Earlham was able to cut the lead to four at 32-28 going in to halftime.

At the beginning of the second half, Earlham went on a 6-0 run capped by a Nick Welsh layup. It gave the team its only lead of the second half. Oberlin responded with a 20-6 run which effectively sealed Oberlin’s victory. The Yeomen’s largest lead of the game was 13 coming off Beard’s lay-up and a free throw by senior Matthew Godwin.

Oberlin plays Alma College on Friday, Dec. 14. Although Oberlin is coming off of a big win, Cavaco is not resting on his laurels and knows it will be a tough game.

“They’re smaller and quicker. We need to continue working on handling pressure,” Cavaco said.

Oberlin does not play again after Saturday’s game until January 2, when the team will face Anderson University.