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Oberlin 56, Ohio Wesleyan 49 (2/19/2002)

Cameron Leverett went 8-for-8 from the line in the final minute as Oberlin upset Ohio Wesleyan in North Coast Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal action on Tuesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Oberlin threatened to pull away from the cold-shooting Bishops in the first half, taking a 32-19 lead on Bosko Tomasevic's putback of his own missed shot with 1:57 remaining.

But the Bishops responded with a free throw by freshman forward Seth Rhea (Delaware/Hayes), a putback by sophomore center Travis Schwab (Medina) and a lay-in by freshman forward Brandon Cole (Sidney) to close the gap to 32-24 at halftime.

Chris Ikpoh scored the first basket of the second half for Oberlin, but Ohio Wesleyan continued its momentum and reeled off a 11-2 run to close within 36-35 with 15:31 remaining.

The Bishop defense kept things close at that point, at one point blocking 3 consecutive shots by Oberlin's Ric Pierce, but Ohio Wesleyan was unable to get the go-ahead basket.

Oberlin still led, 43-38 with 10:40 remaining when the Bishops seized the lead with a 7-0 run. Schwab hit a lay-in, junior guard Kyle Comstock (Sunbury/Buckeye Valley) went coast-to-coast with a defensive rebound and sophomore guard Shawn Kindred (Delaware/Hayes) gave the Bishops the lead with a 3-pointer from the left side that made the score 45-43 in favor of Ohio Wesleyan with 5:39 remaining.

But the Bishop offense went silent from there, getting just one point over the next 5-plus minutes.

Ikpoh tied the game with a lay-in with 5:17 remaining and Djordje Eremic put Oberlin ahead to stay with a 3-pointer with 3:45 left. Ohio Wesleyan closed to within 48-46 when Schwab hit one of 2 free throws at the 2:33 mark, but that was as close as the Bishops could come.

Oberlin wasn't able to put the game away as the Bishop defense forced a miss on one possession and a 30-second violation on the next Yeomen possession, but the Bishops could not get the tying hoop and were forced to send Leverett to the line in the final 47 seconds.

Schwab and Cole led the Bishops with 12 points apiece, with Schwab grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. Kindred finished with 10 points and shared the team lead with 4 assists.

Leverett led the Yeomen with 14 points, and Ikpoh had 11 points and 9 rebounds.