#17 Oilers Make Late Run, Win 68-63 Over Warriors
The University of Findlay men's basketball team, ranked 17th in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll, used a late 6-0 run within 34 seconds of play in the second half to capture a 68-63 win over Wayne State University on Saturday, January 7 in Croy Gymnasium.
In a game that featured nine ties and 13 lead changes, the Oilers found themselves down by one at 61-60 with 1:15 remaining in the game. Senior guard Kyle Caiola then drove the lane, converted a lay-up and hit a free throw to complete a three-point play. The clutch play gave the Oilers a 63-61 lead with 56 seconds remaining.
Needing to get a stop, sophomore forward Jake Heagen blocked a shot, which was rebounded by fellow sophomore forward Mark Frilling. After a timeout, a foul sent Caiola back to the free throw line where he connected on both attempts to extend the Oilers lead to four at 65-61 with 22 ticks left.
After another defensive stop, junior guard Aaron Robinson went to the charity stripe and split a pair of shots to give Findlay a 66-61 advantage with 12 seconds remaining in the game.
A lay-up by Wayne State's Bryan Coleman cut the lead to three at 66-63, but Caiola went to the line again and buried a pair of free throws to ice the game and give the Oilers their 71st straight victory over a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opponent in Croy Gymnasium.
The Oilers, who improved to 11-3 on the season with a 5-2 record in GLIAC play, shot 47.8 percent (22-of-46) from the field and hit 20-of-27 (74.1%) of their free throw attempts in the game.
The Warriors meanwhile shot 50 percent (25-of-50) from the floor and connected on 11-of-12 (91.7%) shots from the charity stripe.
Caiola led the Oilers with a season-high tying 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting. The Parma, Ohio native also hit 10-of-12 shots from the free throw line in 34 minutes of action.
Junior forward Brad Piehl made 6-of-9 shots en route to 15 points while Heagen recorded 13 points and four rebounds, hitting on 5-of-6 shots from the field.
Sophomore forward Greg Kahlig also reached double digits in scoring, chipping in ten points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.
Coleman led the Warriors with 18 points off the bench while Ike Udanoh had 16 points and five boards.
The Oilers will will be back in action again next Thursday, January 12 when they head to Painesville, Ohio to take on Lake Erie College at 8 pm.