The Oberlin Review
<< Front page Sports February 11, 2005

Cool shooting brings down Yeomen basketball

The Oberlin men’s basketball team played with parched lips and chapped hands as they elongated the dark and currently irreversible drought that is the 2004-2005 season in Wednesday’s 70-47 loss to Denison University. The loss is the Yeomen’s fifth consecutive and 20th overall of its current two win season.

Oberlin took more shots, but Denison made its shots count. The Big Red made 55 percent of field goals and 54.5 percent of three pointers in comparison to the Yeomen’s 24.6 percent and 30 percent. Sophomore Quinton Spencer and first-year Matthew Godwin shared Oberlin’s team high honors with 17 points each.

Dan Greiff, a frisbee-playing junior, blamed this loss, like the others, on his team’s abbreviated height and juvenescence. “We are a short team,” he said, “they badly out-rebounded us. We are a young team; as soon as we got tired in the second half, they capitalized and outplayed us.” He also emphasized another size differential between the two teams: “We had eight people suit up while they had more than 20.”

Sophomore Matt Kaplan provided criticism that was more specific to this game. “A poor shooting night with continued inexperience made winning this game pretty arduous,” said Kaplan. “However, I do think we continue to improve on defense and mature as the season progresses.” The Yeomen had 27 rebounds.

From a fan perspective, the game was not a complete black hole. “It was really great to see some of the players who don’t get a lot of minutes get in and really contribute to the game,” said Leslie Ruster, a first-year with significant attachment to the team.

Oberlin hosts Hiram College this Saturday at 3 in its final home contest. To see whether the Yeomen can defy the mysterious rules of the solar system and float out the deep impenetrable hole of their season is more than enough incentive for fans to come cheering to Phillips gym.
 
 

   

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