Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 81, Oberlin 72

Senior wing Dre White (Lima/Bath) scored 8 straight points to vanquish an Oberlin rally and 19th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan went on to post a North Coast Athletic Conference victory over the Yeomen on Wednesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

The Bishops had constructed a 20-point first-half lead, breaking a 12-12 tie with a 13-0 run that included 3-pointers by junior wing Nick Felhaber (Holland/Toledo St. John's) and sophomore post Claude Gray (Avon) as well as a 3-point play by freshman wing Ben Simpson (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest) and a steal and dunk by White.  Matthew Walker's jumper with 7:22 left in the half ended Oberlin's 5-plus minute scoring drought, but the Bishops would hold the Yeomen without a basket for nearly 4 more minutes.

Meanwhile, Simpson went 4-for-4 from the line, and senior post Reuel Rogers (Columbus/Bexley) and senior guard Taylor Rieger (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange) added baskets, and freshman guard Seth Clark (Lewis Center/Olentangy) finished off the run with a pair of free throws that gave the Bishops a 35-15 lead with 4:44 left in the first half.

Ohio Wesleyan still led, 55-35, after Gray's lay-in at the 14:22 mark of the second half, but Oberlin rallied with a pair of Austin Little 3-pointers and a pair of Randy Ollie buckets, along with a 3-point play and a pair of free throws by Walker.  After Ollie and Emmanuel Lewis each sank a pair of free throws, Oberlin had narrowed the deficit to 61-56 with 8:42 to play.

White's jumper from the lane with 8:25 left ended Ohio Wesleyan's span of nearly 5 minutes without a basket, but Oberlin countered with a Poyle lay-in and a Geoff Simpson free throw to make it a 63-59 contest with 7:36 remaining.

With the Bishops holding a 65-61 lead, White drove for a lay-in to give Ohio Wesleyan a 6-point cushion, then drained 3-pointers on the Bishops' next 2 possessions to extend the lead to 73-61 with 5:33 to play.

Oberlin closed to within 75-68 with the help of a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer by Lewis, but that was as close as the Yeomen would come.

White led the Bishops with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.  Rogers finished with 13 points, Clark scored 11 points, and Rieger added 10 points.

Simpson paced the Yeomen with 18 points.

Box Score