#1 Oilers Hold Off Ashland

The University of Findlay men's basketball team, the top ranked team in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll, overcame a rough first half to defeat Ashland University 72-58 on Wednesday, January 5 in Croy Gymnasium. The win gives the Oilers a 12-0 record on the season with a 5-0 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

The Oilers found themselves down 40-30 at the break, but they turned on the defensive intensity in the second half and held the Eagles to only 18 points. In the final period, Findlay made 22-of-23 attempts from the free throw line and totaled 42 points.

Junior guard Kyle Caiola led the Oilers with a season-high tying 17 points.

Freshman forward Greg Kahlig added 15 points and a career-high nine rebounds while senior guard Nathan Hyde chipped in 13 points in the win.

Sophomore guard Aaron Robinson and sophomore forward Brad Piehl also broke into double figures with 11 and ten points, respectively.

As a team, the Oilers shot 44.2 percent (19-of-43) from the floor and connected on a season-high 29-of-32 (90.6%) shots from the free throw line.

Ashland hit 46 percent (23-of-50) of their shots and were led by Evan Yates, who scored 14 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.

Kale Richardson added 12 points and seven boards while Will Evans tallied 11 points and seven rebounds in the game for the Eagles.

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