Knight Scores 43, Makes All Tournament-Team

The Oberlin College men's basketball team got the season started on a good note at the Adrian (Mich.) College Tournament. Though they fell to host Adrian in the first game they bounced back the following day, beating conference rival Denison in a non-league game.

In the first game against Adrian, Oberlin jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a basket by senior James Knight. That would be their only lead of the game, though, as Brian Schaefer hit back-to-back three pointers, sending Adrian up 6-2. Steve Brooks would follow Schaefer's treys with two of his own, countered by Oberlin baskets from junior Brian Buchanan and first-year Julius Hill.

"They hit a bunch of threes in a row to start the game and before we knew it we were in a big hole," first-year Cameron Leverett said.

With the score standing at 14-6, senior Maurice Elrod, who received all-conference honorable mention last season, broke into the scorers box with back-to-back three pointers, pulling Oberlin to within two at 14-12.

Adrian then went on a 9-0 run, putting them up 23-12. A long range bomb from James Knight broke the run and kept Oberlin within eight at 23-15. The 9-0 run was followed by a 7-0 run by Adrian, but again, Oberlin kept the game close with Elrod draining a three and sophomore Jon MacDonald converting a three point play. That put the Yeomen down nine with just under six minutes to play in the first half.

After a bit of back and forth scoring, and an increase in Adrian's lead to 14 points, Knight decided to take to the air, rattling the rim with a dunk that cut Adrian's lead to 12. Not to be outdone on the other end, Adrian's Mike Lagger showed some high-flying acrobatics with a dunk of his own. The first half ended on a basket by junior Ric Pierce. The score at the half stood 44-32 in favor of Adrian.

Leverett started the second half with a two-point basket, cutting the lead to 10. With 11:10 left to play in the game Adrian went on a 12-4 run with the only baskets for Oberlin coming from Elrod. This pushed Adrian's lead to 20 with just over seven minutes to play. Buchanan then started and finished a 9-0 run for Oberlin that included another dunk by Knight.

Down 11 with just over three minutes to play, it looked as if Oberlin still had a fighting shot at victory. Any shot there might have been, though, was quickly smashed by Brooks, who was the MVP of the tournament, when he went on an 8-0 run, capping it with a four point play.

Oberlin's final score came with 2:04 to play on a basket by Buchanan. Adrian ended the game on a 10-0 run to win 86-59.

Brooks ended with a game high 28 points for Adrian. For Oberlin, Elrod paced the team with 18 points, followed by Knight and Buchanan with 11 each. Elrod finished the night perfect from behind the arch and perfect from the line.

In the second game of the tournament Oberlin took on conference opponent Denison in a non-league match. Oberlin came out fired-up and looking to avenge the beating they took in the first game.

Buchanan got the game started with a bucket, putting the Yeomen up 2-0. That lead quickly vanished as Charlie Delay drained a three for Denison, giving them the lead, 3-2. After some back and forth scoring, sophomore Justin Perkins sank a three, giving Oberlin a lead that they would hold until halftime. Perkins' three was followed closely by a 9-0 run by the Yeomen, giving them a commanding lead at 22-11. Denison put together a few sets of back-to-back baskets and cut the Yeomen lead to six at half-time, 30-24.

In the second half Denison kept clawing away at Oberlin's lead, but stepped-up play from Knight kept Denison at Oberlin's feet. Knight scored 22 of his game-high 29 in the second half, scoring big baskets whenever Denison neared.

With 8:47 to play Denison's hard work paid off as they took their first lead in almost 26 minutes. Their lead would last less than a minute, though, as quick baskets from Buchanan and Knight gave Oberlin a lead they wouldn't lose, 53-48.

Elrod and Knight combined to score 12 of the last 14 Yeomen points, securing Oberlin their first win of the year, 75-65.

Knight ended the game with a double-double, scoring 29 points while grabbing 14 rebounds. Knight's performance landed him a selection on the All-Tournament Team. He also shot 11-14 from the free throw line. He was followed in scoring by Elrod with 11 and Buchanan with 10.

Denison was led in scoring by Delay with 18 and Tony Price with 16.

This past Saturday Oberlin traveled to Kennedy Arena to take on St. Vincent (Pa.) College. The meager crowd total of 50 was a good sign of how the game went. It wasn't worth watching, as St. Vincent humiliated the Yeomen 95-51.

St. Vincent sent five players into double figures in the point column, led by Chad Dickman with a game high 21. Oberlin was paced in scoring by Elrod with 19. The only other Oberlin player to hit double digits was Knight with 11.

"We just didn't play good against [St. Vincent]. They killed us on the boards and no one was really hot on offense," Leverett said. "We are just waiting for the game where everyone clicks on offense and then they can't key in on one of us."

Coming off the pitiful performance turned in Saturday, Oberlin got set to open league play Wednesday night by traveling to Granville to take on Denison.

After losing to Oberlin in the Adrian College Tourney, Denison was looking for revenge. Nothing short of a great game resulted, as these two teams met for the second time in just over a week. Oberlin fell just short in the rematch, losing 88-85 in overtime.

"They beat us down low. That's why they won this game and lost the other," Leverett said. "There were two keys to their win. Our big guys got into foul trouble and they out-rebounded us. You have to give them credit tough we put them on the line and they made their free throws, that definitely hurt us."

Oberlin gave up 23 more points in the second meeting of the two teams while only scoring 10 more.

Again Knight had Denison's number, this time lighting them up for 43 points, while grabbing 11 rebounds to pace the team in both categories. Knight was on fire from beyond the arc, hitting five of seven three-pointers. "Usually we tell [Knight] not to shoot the three, to take it to the hole, but when he's on you can't say no," Leverett said. Buchanan and Elrod both hit double figures, throwing in 12 and 11 points respectively.

Denison received huge games from DeLacey and from John Swickwrath. DeLacey ended the night with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Swickwrath finished tallying 23 points and 17 rebounds. John Swickwrath's brother, Brad, ended the night coming off the bench to score 11 points and Price finished the night with 10. The game moved both teams to 1-3 overall. Denison rose to 1-0 in the NCAC and Oberlin fell to 0-1.

Through four games this season Oberlin's players have some impressive individual statistics. Knight leads the team in scoring at 23.5 points per game, rebounding at eight per game, as well as in blocks, steals and three-point field goal percentage. Elrod is second on the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game, leads the team in free throw percentage and is second in assists. Buchanan is third on the team in scoring at 10.3 points per game, and leads the team in field goal percentage. Leverett leads the team with 17 assists, or just over four a game.

Oberlin opens their home season on Sat., Dec. 2 at 2 p.m against Lake Erie College.