Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's basketball team erased a 10-point second-half deficit to stun the DePauw University Tigers 67-63 on Saturday afternoon at Philips Gym.
 
Matt Walker's turnaround jumper in the paint with 14 seconds to go put the Yeomen out in front 64-63 and Oberlin would then ice the game at the free throw line to secure the victory.
 
Trailing 63-53 with 5:29 to go, the Yeomen ripped off a 9-0 spurt over the next four minutes to get within one. It was their defense that spearheaded the charge as they created five steals during the surge that featured fastbreak layups from Jack Poyle and Ian Campbell, as well as a clutch triple-hit from Nathan Cohen.  Poyle could have tied it at the free throw line, but his attempt was off the mark to setup the late-game heroics from Walker.
 
With a 63-62 cushion in hand, DePauw had a chance to extend its lead out to three as big man Tommy Fernitz was sent to the line for two, but a raucous Oberlin student section aided in creating two misses with less than a minute to go.
 
Following Walker's go-ahead bucket, the Tigers' Adam Botts missed a jumper in the paint with Zach Meyers securing the rebound and immediately being sent to the line. While Oberlin shot just 55-percent (11-of-20) at the charity stripe as a team, Meyers cashed in both freebies when they needed it the most to help put the finishing touches on the victory.
 
Poyle, who started the game with a four-point play, scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the first half and finished with a career-high six assists. Miles Gueno added nine points, while Cohen, Meyers and Walker each added eight for the Yeomen.
 
Oberlin played one of its best halves of the season to open the game. The Yeomen raced out to a quick 9-0 lead, but the Tigers fought back to get within one, 27-26, with 6:04 left in the frame. Oberlin would widen its gap out 10 as Poyle scored eight of nine points on a 9-0 run that made it 36-26 with 2:30 left in the stanza. However, DePauw answered back with a 9-2 surge of its own to make it a 38-35 Yeomen advantage at the intermission.
 
In the second half it appeared the game was slipping away from Oberlin as DePauw held the Yeomen to just nine points in the session for the first 11 minutes en route to claiming a 54-47 lead of its own.  DePauw would take its first double-digit lead, 61-51, with 6:29 left to play, but the Yeomen had one last push in them to send the crowd home happy.
 
The Yeomen have now beaten the Tigers in each of the last four seasons, including last year when they were nationally ranked. This year's Tigers' squad was ranked 18^th before dropping out of the national poll heading into this week.
 
Oberlin shot 51.1-percent (24-of-47) in the win, including an impressive 42.1-percent (8-of-19) from 3-point land.  The Tigers checked in at 40.5-percent (17-of-42) in the loss.
 
The Yeomen moved to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the NCAC with the win. DePauw dropped to 5-3 and 0-3 in the league.
 
The Yeomen will now have a long layoff for the holiday season before returning to action on Monday, December 29 at Chapman University in Orange, California.  Tip-time is set for 7:30 p.m. EST.