The Oberlin men’s basketball team ended its regular season with a bang and showed great promise for the season to come. On February 23, the Yeomen faced the Hiram College Terriers at home for an important conference match-up. Hiram, who was one spot ahead of Oberlin in the conference standings, was essential to beat to ensure a spot in the NCAC tournament. The Yeomen were up for the challenge and won 76-73 in a game that came down to the wire.

The Yeomen were all clearly on top of their game after a long season of hard work and improvement. Three players scored in double figures. Junior Mike Loll, who was recently named to the North Coast Athletic Conference Second-Team, had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Omari Hall cashed in 17 points including five three-pointers. First-year Ryan Magiera made significant contributions as well. He nearly had a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds.

The game proved to be a nail-biter up to the final buzzer. Hiram had a two-point lead with a minute to go, but Hall responded with one of his five triples, followed by five clutch free-throws by senior Matt Godwin and first-year Gian Chiu.

The victory, combined with Wabash College’s 86-75 victory over Denison, earned Oberlin its first slot in the post-season tournament bracket since the 2000-01 season.

This proved to be a favorite moment of the season for many of the Yeomen. “I think we responded to a lot of adversity in that game, and it was great to see us come out on top. It was absolutely our most important win all season,” said junior Collin Sallee.

“We all came together when it mattered and we were able to pull through for the win,” Hall commented.

The game was especially memorable because it was the final game in Philips Gymnasium for seniors Matt Godwin, Elvis Francois and Chase Palmer. “It was just a great feeling playing and winning with my teammates,” Godwin remarked.

The Yeomen’s season officially ended after a tough match-up against national power house College of Wooster on the Scots’ home floor. The final score did not end up in the Yeomen’s favor, but several Yeomen had strong performances. Hall had another excellent shooting night with career high of 22 points on 10-13 shooting. Loll, Godwin and first-year guard Pat Bernhard all ended up scoring in double figures as well.

The Yeomen are already looking forward to next season and hoping to do even bigger and better things than they did this year. Their appearance in the conference tournament was a great accomplishment, but the team hopes to do even better next year. “We would like to win more conference games, so we can secure a better seed in the playoffs and hopefully advance to at least the next round,” said junior post-player Noah Goldman.

“Next year, we just plan on continuing where we left off this year. We turned a few heads and started to make a name for ourselves in the conference. So next year, the only direction we are interested in going is forward,” said Hall.

The Yeomen will only lose three players from the current roster to graduation and nine will return. Five of these players will be seniors, so the Yeomen hope to use their experience and wisdom to their advantage. According to Sallee, “Next year, we will have a strong core of seniors coupled with some talented underclassmen. I think if everyone puts in the necessary work in the off-season, we could surprise a lot of people. I think it wouldn’t be too lofty to say I hope to bring the NCAC Tournament to Oberlin’s home court next year.”