OBERLIN, Ohio – The Manchester University men's basketball team found itself on the winning end of yet another dramatic finish on Saturday afternoon. After narrowly falling on a buzzer-beater earlier in the week, the Spartans were able to sink a clutch basket themselves as time expired against host Oberlin College.
After a layup by first-year guard
Quentez Columbus (South Bend, Ind./Adams) put Manchester ahead 72-71 with 27 seconds left, the Yeomen responded with a pair of free throws by Yuuki Okubo.
Trailing 73-72 with 6.2 seconds left, Columbus was able to beat the full-court pressure by Oberlin and found first-year guard
Bryant Smith (West Lafayette, Ind./Harrison) spotted up on the left-wing. Smith elevated over a pair of Yeomen defenders and buried the triple to put the Spartans ahead 75-73 with just 0.1 seconds left on the game clock.
Smith led all scorers on the afternoon, finishing with 25 points on 8-17 shooting. Smith went 6-14 from three-point territory and went a perfect 3-3 at the free throw line.
Quentez Columbus added 20 points and 7 rebounds. Fifth-year forward
CJ Hampton (Hammond, Ind./Griffith) added 12 points and 7 rebounds for Manchester.
The Black & Gold finished shooting 27-61 for the game – good enough for 44 percent. The Spartan knocked down 13 triples in the win.
Four Oberlin players scored in double figures. Wolf Moser led the way with 20 points, while Dimitrije Radusinovic scored 16, Cole Otley 14, and Asaan Snipes-Rea 10. Radusinovic also grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds.
The Yeomen shot 47.5 percent (28-59) but were held to just 36 percent (9-25) shooting from three-point territory. Manchester also forced 15 turnovers and converted those turnovers into 17 points.
Manchester (1-4) secured its first win of the season and will face Capital in its next contest on Sunday November 28. Tip-off from Ohio is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Oberlin (2-1) dropped its first contest of the young season. The Yeomen will travel to Carnegie-Mellon on Tuesday November 23 for an 8 p.m. matchup with the Tartans.
