RICHMOND, Ind. — A decisive run late in the second half was the difference on Saturday as the Earlham College men's basketball team won its home opener 82-77 over Oberlin College.

“It was a big win for us,” Earlham Head Coach Jeff Justus said of the victory on Schuckman Court in the Athletics and Wellness Center.

The North Coast Athletic Conference contest was tied at 56-56 with just over seven minutes remaining when the Quakers went on a 16-2 run to take command.

Earlham built a 72-58 advantage with less than three minutes to play before Oberlin (2-5, 0-2) was able to respond to close the gap to 75-71 with 45 seconds left.

“We did feel comfortable when we got our lead, but we did have a couple of shots we shouldn't have taken.” Justus said. “Those shots helped Oberlin get back in it. We've got to learn how to protect a lead, so this was good for us.”

In the final minute, Earlham was able to make 5-of-6 free throws to put the game away.

A. J. Sutherlin led the Quakers with 24 points and six assists.

Shane Heidt added 15 points and five rebounds with all but one of the rebounds coming after intermission.

“Shane had a great second half,” Justus said. “He always gives a great effort.”

Ryan Taylor (14 points), Justin Barger (13 points) and Joe Brown (seven points) also supplied some offense.

“We had 34 points off the bench from those three guys and that was a big lift,” Justus said.

Marty Broderick pulled down five rebounds, while Kyle Calder contributed four assists and four steals.

Oberlin started the afternoon with an early lead of 9-4 before the Quakers rallied to go on top for the first time 13-11 when Taylor hit a 3-pointer with 12:28 left in the opening stanza.

Both teams held leads through out the first half before the contest was tied at 28-28 with 3:06 left. Oberlin scored six straight points to go in front 34-28.

The Quakers bounced back with 3-pointers from Sutherlin and Taylor in the final moments to end the half at 34-34.

In the second half, the game remained tight as Oberlin led most of the way until Earlham started its game-winning stretch.

Earlham (3-4, 1-0) returns to action next Saturday at Denison University. The NCAC game gets underway at 3 p.m.

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