Junior post Claude Gray and junior post Matt Jeske combined for 31 first-half points as 13th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan built a 15-point halftime lead and went on to defeat Oberlin, 83-66, in a North Coast Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Ohio Wesleyan, the tournament's top seed, will face fourth-seeded DePauw, a 79-75 winner over Wittenberg, in a tournament semifinal at 8:30 p.m. on Friday at Branch Rickey Arena.  The other semifinal will pit second-seeded Wooster against third-seeded Wabash at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.  The semifinal winners will play in the tournament championship game at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Jeske knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to get the Bishops off to a quick 6-0 lead, and the Bishops still led, 10-4, after Gray's lay-in exactly 3 minutes into the action.

Oberlin closed to within 10-9 with a 3-pointer by Nathan Cohen and a lay-in by Randy Ollie.

The Bishops answered with a 10-0 run that included a pair of free throws from sophomore wing Ben Simpson, a 3-pointer by freshman wing Will Orr, a lay-in by freshman guard Nate Axelrod, and a Gray 3-pointer that gave Ohio Wesleyan a 20-9 lead with 13:28 left in the first half.

Ohio Wesleyan increased its lead to a dozen on Gray's 3-pointer at the 9:20 mark, but the Yeomen reeled off the next 8 points, getting 3-pointers by Jack Poyle and Austin Little, and another Little 3-pointer, this one with 6:49 left in the half, made it a one-possession game at 35-32.

The Bishops responded with another 10-0 run, collecting 3-pointers by senior wing Nick Felhaber and Jeske along the way, to push the margin back into double digits.  Ohio Wesleyan put an exclamation point on the first half with a 3-pointer from Gray which gave the Bishops a 54-39 lead heading into the locker room, their largest margin of the game to that point.

Oberlin opened the second half with a Poyle 3-pointer and an Ollie lay-in to close to within 55-44, but the Yeomen would come no closer and the lead would remain in double figures throughout the remainder of the contest.

Gray led the Bishops with 23 points, raising his career total to 1016. He is the 29th Ohio Wesleyan men's basketball player to surpass the 1000-point mark.

Jeske finished with 16 points.  Simpson racked up his fourth consecutive double-double, collecting 10 points and 13 rebounds.  Axelrod dished out a team-best 8 assists.

Ollie led Oberlin with 20 points.