The Oberlin Yeomen completed their home schedule this week, splitting two games in the friendly confines of Phillips Gymnasium. Oberlin won on Feb. 11 against the Kenyon College Lords, and on Feb. 15 Ohio Wesleyan defeated Oberlin in the final home game of the season.

Against Kenyon, Oberlin failed to make a shot from the floor for the first five minutes of the game. This drought allowed the Lords to open up a five-point lead against Oberlin.

The Yeomen responded to this deficit with a 17-2 run. During the run the Yeomen hit six of eight shots, five of which came from behind the arc. Sophomore Matt Godwin had six of his 11 total points during this stretch, hitting both of his three-point attempts.

Oberlin went to the half with an 11-point lead. First-year Brad Spelich led Oberlin with 10 first-half points. Fellow first-year Mike Loll had seven points and nine rebounds in the first-half on the way to his first career double-double, finishing the game with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Loll led the Yeomen in both categories.

Kenyon started the second half on an 8-0 run, cutting the Yeomen lead to three. Oberlin responded with six quick points and maintained their lead for most of the second half, but Kenyon stayed close the whole time. With four minutes to play, Kenyon tied the score with a pair of free throws.

Oberlin played very well in crunch time to win their second game of the season. The Yeomen made seven of ten free throws to seal the win by a score of 73-68. Spelich finished the game with 17 points, and junior Quinton Spencer added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Spencer scored the majority of his points from the charity line, going 8-12.

Against Ohio Wesleyan University, Oberlin played a sloppy game and paid for their mistakes. Oberlin committed 22 turnovers and shot under 40 percent from the field. The Yeomen started the game by failing to score a field goal for nearly seven minutes.

OWU jumped out to an early lead due to Oberlin’s turnovers and poor shooting. The 22 turnovers resulted in 35 OWU points. Oberlin only had seven bench points compared to the 34 for OWU. These were the two key factors in Oberlin’s 73-53 loss.

Oberlin’s record currently stands at 2-21. Both victories have come at home against conference opponents. Even with the poor record there is still a positive feeling on the team. After starting the season 0-19, Oberlin has gone 2-2. The Yeomen also don’t have a senior on their roster and figure they have nowhere to go but up.

“I think the most important thing every individual can take from this season is the experience first, then the amount of work it takes to make it to the top,” said Spencer. “The goal all season is continue to get better and work hard to take it to the next step.”

Oberlin finishes the 05-06 season on the road at Earlham College who currently holds an 8-7 conference record, good enough for fifth place in the NCAC. Oberlin will try to take the next step by finishing the season with a win to carry them into the off-season and into what could be a great 2006-07 season, carrying a starting linep with five scoring theats. At different points in the season, each of the starters have lead team in scoring.