#3 Oilers Fall At GVSU

The University of Findlay men's basketball team, ranked third in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll, dropped a 72-66 decision to Grand Valley State University on Thursday, February 17 in Allendale, Michigan. The loss gives the Oilers a 20-2 record on the year with a 14-2 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

The Oilers trailed by one at 28-27 after the first half ended, but were out-scored by a 25-9 margin in the first 10 minutes of the deciding period. The Oilers then made a few short runs, but were unable to overcome the 17-point lead Grand Valley built early in the second half.

Senior guard Nathan Hyde led the team with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He also made 4-of-9 shots from three point range to move ahead of Tyson McGlaughlin, who made 238 from 2002-05, into second place all-time at Findlay with 241 career triples.

Junior guard Kyle Caiola also reached double figures with 18 points and four assists while senior forward Tyler Sparks came off the bench to add nine points and eight rebounds.

As a team, the Oilers shot 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the floor while the Lakers connected on 50 percent (22-of-44) of their field goal attempts. The Oilers bench, which has consistently out-played their opponents, was out-scored by a 32-18 advantage in the game as Findlay moved into a tie with Ferris State University for the top seed in the GLIAC Tournament with the loss.

The Lakers were led by James Thomas, who scored a game-high 18 points.

The Oilers will be back in action again on Saturday when they face Ferris State University at 1 pm in Big Rapids, Michigan.