In an afternoon likely to be remembered by many Oberlin College basketball followers for months to come, Oberlin took on Wabash College Saturday and turned out a 87-78 upset victory over one of the best teams in the conference.
In what was already a special day with the alumni game held two hours before tip-off, the Yeomen finally played to their potential and broke some habits that had been hurting them this season.
“I guess what made this game special was that our players had a chance to present themselves and the alumni that were in the stands,” head coach Frank Dobbs said.
Coming into the game, Wabash had been known as an extremely physical team, though they have lost at Oberlin two years in a row.
The Yeomen nailed key three-pointers when the momentum looked to be turning, made their foul shots, controlled the ball and made runs when necessary.
In a seesaw first half battle, Oberlin found themselves down 34-30 at intermission. With the outcome of the contest close at hand, the Yeomen kept the hope alive that they could ruin Wabash’s hopes of landing a first-round home playoff game in the conference championships.
Never trailing by more than four in the second half, the Yeomen rolled to victory by committing merely 11 turnovers, passing for 21 assists and shooting 74 percent from the foul line.
In the final road game of the season, Oberlin College traveled to Denison University on Wednesday night to try to avenge an early season loss to the Big Red. In a frustrating start, the Yeomen found themselves down by 17 points at the half.
“We played very good defense the first 10 minutes,” Dobbs said. “We had good shots but the ball didn’t go in the basket. We had trouble defending and making shots.”
In what has become a theme for the basketball team this season, the Yeoman outscored Denison by six points in the second half but fell on the road 72-61.
“We played hard and solid in the second half,” Dobbs noted.
In the seniors’ final game and a possible building block for next season, Oberlin will finish its season tomorrow against Hiram College.
“This weekend is for the seniors,” Dobbs said. “We have to do a good job protecting the basketball and make them play defense.”