#8 Oilers Hold On For 73-71 Win Over Warriors

The University of Findlay men's basketball team, ranked eighth in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll, won 73-71 against Wayne State University on Saturday, January 15 in Croy Gymnasium. The win gives the Oilers a 14-1 record on the season with a 7-1 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

The Warriors jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first four minutes of the game and it looked as though Wayne State might have Findlay's number. The Oilers were patient on both ends of the floor however and battled back to take a 38-33 lead at the break on a triple by senior guard Nathan Hyde at the buzzer.

The Oilers rode the momentum of Hyde's shot in the early stages of the second half, building a 12-point lead at 45-33 with 16:47 to play. The Warriors would not go quietly however as they kept chipping away at the Findlay lead.

Clinging to a 70-69 lead with 1:51 to play, Hyde hit a couple of shots from the free throw line with 28 ticks remaining in the game. An offensive rebound by the Warriors on the ensuing possession sent Bryan Smothers to the line for Wayne State where he calmly drained two to cut the deficit to one at 72-71 with only 14 seconds left.

Leading by one, junior guard Kyle Caiola went to the charity stripe for Findlay and split a pair of free throws. Smothers then missed a three point shot at the buzzer for Wayne State to give Findlay the victory while keeping their home winning streak intact.

The Oilers, who have now won 99 straight regular season games in Croy and 64 consecutive home games counting tournament play, were led by Hyde's 24 points.

Hyde made 8-of-11 shots on the afternoon to go along with two assists, two steals and a rebound.

Senior forward Tyler Sparks also had a great game for the Oilers, scoring ten points to go along with three boards.

Caiola, sophomore guard Aaron Robinson and freshman forward Greg Kahlig each contributed eight points in the win.

The Warriors were led by Mike Hollingsworth's 23 points.

Ike Udanoh added 16 points while Smothers stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, ten assists and five rebounds.

The Oilers will be back in action again on January 20 when they travel to Hillsdale, Michigan to take on Hillsdale College at 6 pm.