Oilers Hang On For 72-71 Overtime Win Over Tiffin

The University of Findlay men's basketball team secured home court advantage throughout the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament with a thrilling 72-71 overtime win against Tiffin University on Saturday, February 27 in Tiffin, Ohio. The victory gives the Oilers a 21-6 record on the year with a 17-5 mark in conference play.

The Oilers fell behind by 14 points at 59-45 with 7:36 to play in regulation but cut the Dragons lead to three with just over three minutes to play. After a free throw by junior guard Nathan Hyde and a jumper by senior guard Marcus Parker, the Oilers tied the game at 61-61 with 2:34 remaining.

Tiffin, who hit difficult shot after difficult shot throughout the contest, connected on another as Keenan Barlow hit a 26-foot three pointer to make the score 64-61 with two minutes remaining. A free throw by freshman guard Aaron Robinson and another by Hyde cut the lead to one at 64-63 with 1:34 showing on the clock.

Down by one and needing a stop, the Oilers came up with one as Hyde stole the ball and hit two free throws to give Findlay a 65-64 lead with 41 ticks left. Another steal by Hyde led to a 1-of-2 showing from the charity stripe as Findlay was clinging to a two point lead at 66-64 with 28 seconds left in the second half.

The Dragons, needing a bucket, got one from Brian Scott with 18 seconds remaining to tie the game and a shot by Parker at the end of regulation was blocked to force overtime.

In overtime, it took two minutes for either team to score as the Oilers played solid defense but squandered opportunities at the line, missing four straight free throws before Scott drilled a jumper to give Tiffin a 68-66 lead.

A lay-up by Parker then tied the game but Scott connected on a long triple to give the Dragons a 71-68 lead with 1:36 left in the game.

Needing a score, Parker drove the lane and connected on an old fashioned three point play to tie the game at 71-71 on the ensuing possession. Hyde then grabbed a rebound off of a missed shot by Tiffin and got the ball to junior forward Tyler Sparks who was fouled on a jumper. Sparks made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe with nine seconds remaining and then a long three pointer by the Dragons' Austin Smith banged off the rim to seal the victory for Findlay.

As a team, the Oilers shot only 36.4 percent (20-of-55) from the floor while the Dragons connected on 58.3 percent (28-of-48) of their shots.

Findlay did force 19 turnovers and made 16 more free throws than Tiffin, hitting 24-of-38 (63.2%) shots from the charity stripe.

Hyde had a tremendous game for the Oilers, scoring 32 points on 8-of-15 shooting in 45 minutes of action. He also drained 7-of-11 tries from three point range and added seven rebounds and four steals.

Robinson added 12 points while Parker chipped in 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The Dragons were led by Scott's 27 points.

The Oilers will be back in action again on Tuesday, March 2 when they host Ashland University in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament at 8:00 p.m. in Croy Gymnasium.