OBERLIN, Ohio – Oberlin College erased a double-digit second-half deficit en route to a 78-73 win against Kenyon College on Wednesday night in a North Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball game.
 
The Yeomen improved their record to 11-7 and 5-6 in the NCAC. For the Lords, they fell to 6-12 and 3-8 in league play.
 
Ugnius Zilinskas led the way with a game-high 24 points while Kamal Aubakirov tied his career high with 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting from downtown. Additionally, senior Carter Powell added 11 points.
 
For the majority of the first half, both teams struggled to consistently find production on the offensive end. In fact, there were almost as many turnovers (7) as made field goals (9) through the first 13 minutes of competition.
 
It was the Lords, though, that were able to get a little breathing room courtesy of Aubakirov, Zilinskas and the free throw line.
 
At the 12:56 mark, Aubakirov drilled a three-pointer on a pass from newcomer Nick Lewis to give the Lords a 12-10 lead. Those two combined to score the next four for Kenyon and it led 16-10 with about 12 minutes left.
 
Later, Zilinskas scored five straight to move the Kenyon lead to 23-17. Then in the final minute, sophomore Elijah Davis pushed the advantage to eight, 31-23, with two free throws. Those makes pushed Kenyon's performance at the foul line to a perfect 13-for-13 in the half. At the break, the visitors led 31-28.
 
After halftime, the Lords quickly moved ahead to their biggest advantage. Aubakirov scored the team's first six points before Powell and newcomer Kase Cronin added six more to push the scoreboard to 43-31 with 15:29 remaining.
 
The Yeomen's offense came alive after that. Dorde Otasevic sparked a 16-0 run for Oberlin and it regained the lead 47-43. Over a 3:44 span, Otasevic scored seven while Andre Campbell added six, including two free throws at 11:38, which gave the Yeomen a 47-43 advantage.  That offensive surge carried for the final 15:22 as the Yeomen hit 15 of their 22 attempts (68.2%) and sank all 11 of their free throws.
 
Kenyon did rally late, and had a chance to tie it down 76-73. Following two Zilinskas free throws with 10 seconds left, Zilinskas forced a turnover and passed to Aubakirov who was behind the three-point line. However, the Yeomen defended that look, and later forced two missed shots near the rim.
 
Next on the schedule for the Lords is a road date at Denison University on Saturday at 3 p.m.