#5 Oilers Use Big Run To Pull Away From Storm

The University of Findlay men's basketball team, ranked fifth in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll, overcame a sluggish first half to defeat Lake Erie College by a score of 63-41 on Thursday, January 27 in Painesville, Ohio. The win gives the Oilers a 16-1 record on the season with a 9-1 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

The Oilers managed to secure a 27-25 lead at the half despite a 1-of-12 showing from the three point line and struggled during the first part of the second half before going on a back-breaking 22-2 run to put the game out of reach.

Tied at 37-37 with 12:10 to play in the game, freshman forward Greg Kahlig got the rally started with a lay-up and a pair of free throws. Junior guard Kyle Caiola then finished the run, scoring ten straight points to give the Oilers a 59-39 lead with 3:55 showing on the clock.

During the last 12 minutes of the contest, the Oilers out-scored the Storm by a 26-4 margin.

Caiola led the team with 14 points while sophomore forward Jack Smith and senior guard Nathan Hyde also reached double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Sophomore guard Aaron Robinson added nine points while sophomore forward Brad Piehl contributed six points and six rebounds.

Findlay connected on 44 percent (22-of-50) of their shots in the game, hitting only 3-of-19 (15.7%) shots from three point range. The Oilers did however hit all 16 of their free throw attempts and only turned the ball over three times in the contest.

Garrick Sims and Ethan Bradshaw led the Storm with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The Oilers will be back in action again on Saturday when they travel to Ashland, Ohio to face Ashland University at 1 pm.