OBERLIN — When second-year Oberlin coach Kurt Russell played, the Phoenix was known for its intense defense and their ability to light up the scoreboard. And while it’s still a work in progress, Oberlin’s future is being shaped by Russell’s ability to take the Phoenix back to the past.
Friday night the Phoenix routed Columbia 83-28 in a Patriot Athletic Conference Stripes Division game. The win moved Oberlin to 11-6 overall and 7-3 in the PAC. And with tournament time right around the corner, the Phoenix is getting it together at the right time.
“We’re starting to peak a little bit,” said Russell, a 1990 graduate of Oberlin.
“We’ve won nine of our last 11 games and we are starting to really jell as a team. We’ve still got some things to work on, but I like how we are playing.”
Columbia led 3-2 following a Richie Bics 3-pointer a minute into the first quarter. And that’s when the Phoenix defense rose up and came crashing down hard on the Raiders.
A full-court press brought the Columbia offense to a halt. Over the next 13:25 of game time, Oberlin forced
20 turnovers and scored
35 straight points.
After Bics broke the dry spell and hit a basket for Columbia with 1:35 left in the half, the Raiders trailed 37-5. Oberlin closed the quarter with a 7-2 run to take a 44-7 lead into the intermission.
The game continued to go Oberlin’s way in the second half, although things got ugly on the court in the third quarter.
Oberlin’s Dominique Stamper was assessed two technicals and ejected when a dispute occurred after Stamper scored to make it 50-13 in favor of Oberlin.
Columbia, which saw the night get off to a good start when its junior varsity won its first game in nearly two years, dropped to 0-15 on the season and 0-10 in the PAC.
“We weren’t ready physically or mentally in the beginning,” said Columbia coach Brian Kelley. “We did a better job in the second half but the game was already decided by then.”
Contact Hans Schneider at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.
Oberlin 83, Columbia 28
COLUMBIA (28): Richie Bics 5-4-16, James Magda 3-0-6, Anthony Fabrizi 1-0-3, Anthony Jaegar 1-1-3, CJ Shope 0-0-0, AJ Donato 0-0-0, Jerry Karl 0-0-0, Josh Kovacs 0-0-0, Kevin Augautus 0-0-0, Ricky Wake 0-0-0, James Van Horn 0-0-0. Totals 10-5-28.
OBERLIN (83): Kris Robinson 10-0-21, Morgan Jones 9-0-19, Steve Kilgore Jr., 6-0-12, Tehran Roundtree 5-0-12, Shwuan Stevenson 5-0-10, Jaron Hicks 2-0-5, Aaron James 1-0-2, Dominique Stamper 1-0-2, Austin Pinkston 0-0-0, Kristian Dodson 0-0-0. Totals 39-0-83.
Columbia           3 4 12 9 — 28
Oberlin             23 21 18 21 — 83
Three-point goals: Columbia 3 (Bics 2, Fabrizi), Oberlin 5 (Roundtree, Hicks, Jones, Robinson). Field goals: Columbia 10 of 35 (29 percent), Oberlin 39 of 85 (46 percent). Free throws: Columbia 5 of 12 (42 percent), Oberlin 0 of 4. Rebounds: Columbia 25 (Bics 6), Oberlin 43 (Roundtree 9). Turnovers: Columbia 41, Oberlin 7. Total fouls: Columbia 2, Oberlin 11. Technical fouls: Oberlin 2 (Stamper 2). Fouled out: None.
Junior varsity: Columbia 47-34.

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