Oilers Host Lake Erie and Ashland
The University of Findlay men's basketball team will host a pair of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contests this week. The Oilers will face Lake Erie College at 8 pm on Thursday and then welcome Ashland University to town for a 3 pm start on Saturday.
Special Events
The University of Findlay will induct six new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame at the 38th annual induction ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 28, in the Winebrenner Theological Seminary TLB Convocation Center. They will also be recognized at halftime of the Oilers men's basketball game against Ashland University.
Inductees this year include James "Eddie" Jordan '61, East Cleveland; Ron Niekamp, Findlay; Violet "Vi" LeClair, Hickory, N.C.; Ray Long '95, Clyde; William Matthews '96, Coconut Creek, Fla.; and Susan (Deeds) Rossman '88, Jenera.
UF Athletic Hall of Fame News Release
Sights and Sounds
All Oilers basketball games can be heard on 88.3 FM "WLFC" or on the internet via their website.
You can listen to the broadcast by clicking on the following link:
The University of Findlay will also broadcast all of their home basketball games on America One. The games can be viewed on your computer for a small fee by visiting the American One website at the following address:
UF athletics will also offer live stats for all home games. A link to this process can be retrieved by clicking on the live stats button located on the left side of the Oilers athletic website.
The Series
The Oilers have never lost to the Storm as they hold an 12-0 advantage in the all-time series dating back to the 1988-89 campaign when Findlay was victorious by a score of 84-51.
Earlier this season, the Oilers came away with a 67-64 overtime win against the Storm in Painesville, Ohio.
Brad Piehl led the team with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Kyle Caiola contributed 12.
Aaron Robinson also broke into double figures with ten points while Jack Smith and Jake Heagen both came off the bench to score nine points apiece.
The Oilers shot 47.8 percent (22-of-46) from the floor and held the Storm to a 39 percent (23-of-59) shooting clip.
Findlay also out-rebounded the Storm by a 40-27 margin, but turned the ball over 21 times.
The Oilers hold a 57-26 advantage in the all-time series dating back to the 1910-11 campaign when Findlay was victorious by a score of 35-10.
Earlier this season, the Eagles defeated the Oilers by a score of 94-80 in Ashland.
The Oilers shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the floor while the Eagles connected on 54.5 percent (30-of-55) of their shots.
The Eagles also drained 8-of-14 (57.1%) of their three point attempts and drilled 26-of-27 (96.3%) shots from the charity stripe.
Greg Kahlig led the Oilers with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting while Jake Heagen contributed 13 points off the bench.
Brad Piehl and Sean Samsel recorded 11 points apiece while Kyle Caiola chipped in ten.
The University of Findlay
The Oilers team used a huge first half effort to down #14 Hillsdale College by a score of 90-73 on Thursday, January 19 in Croy Gymnasium.
The Oilers blistered the nets in the first half as they shot 66.7 percent (16-of-24) from the field and drilled 6-of-9 (66.7%) attempts from behind the three point line. The Oilers defense also held Hillsdale to a mere 33.3 percent (8-of-24) shooting clip in the opening period as they raced out to a 47-24 lead at the break.
Senior guard Kyle Caiola led the charge with a season-high 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Junior forward Jack Smith came off the bench to provide 16 points and five rebounds while junior guard Aaron Robinson tallied 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
Junior forward Brad Piehl also reached double figures in the win, netting 13 points.
The Oilers shot 61.7 percent (29-of-47) from the floor and drilled 9-of-17 (52.9%) shots from long range. They also hit 23-of-26 (88.5%) attempts from the free throw line and came away with ten steals in the victory.
For Findlay's 2011-12 season statistics, please click on the following link:
For Findlay's 2011-12 roster, please click on the following link:
Lake Erie College
The Storm are 7-9 on the year with a 2-7 record in conference play. They have been led by Rich Austin's 12.6 points per game.
Riley Thomas and Nate Tait are also averaging in double figures at 10.6 and 10.5 points per game, respectively.
For Lake Erie's 2011-12 season statistics, please click on the following link:
For Lake Erie's 2011-12 roster, please click on the following link:
Ashland University
The Eagles are 11-6 on the season with a 6-4 record in the GLIAC. They have been led by Evan Yates, who is averaging 21.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game.
Ronnie Steward and Will Evans are also scoring in double figures on a nightly basis at 13.9 and 11.6 points per outing, respectively.
For Ashland's 2011-12 season statistics, please click on the following link:
For Ashland's 2011-12 roster, please click on the following link:
Lighting Up the Scoreboard
The Oilers are averaging 80.2 points per game on the season, the best mark in the GLIAC.
The last time the Oilers averaged over 80.0 points per game in a season came during the 2001-02 campaign when they scored 86.4 points per contest.
Individually, senior guard Kyle Caiola ranks 12th in the conference with a 14.2 points per game average while sophomore guard Greg Kahlig is ranked 18th at 13.1 points per contest.
Making Shots
As a team, the Oilers are connecting on 48.3 percent of their field goal attempts, which is the second best mark in the league.
Individually, junior foward Brad Piehl ranks first in the GLIAC in field goal shooting percentage, hitting 62.2 percent of his tries.
Sophomore forward Greg Kahlig checks in 11th with a 54.5 percent shooting clip while sophomore forward Mark Frilling is 14th at 53.6 percent.
Grand Theft
The Oilers lead the conference in steals per game and rank 29th in the nation with 9.2 per contest.
Individually, senior guard Kyle Caiola ranks ninth in the league with 1.5 steals per game.
Automatic from the Line
Senior guard Kyle Caiola is hitting 91.1 percent of his free throw attempts on the year, the third best mark in the league and the 11th best in the nation.
In addition, junior forward Brad Piehl is hitting 82.6 percent of his attempts from the free throw line to rank 12th in the conference.
As a team, the Oilers are shooting 75.9 percent from the line, the best mark in the GLIAC and the 14th best in the nation.
Swatting Shots
The Oilers are averaging 3.8 blocks per game on the season, the second best mark in the league.
Individually, sophomore forward Mark Frilling ranks tenth in the GLIAC with 1.1 blocked shots per game.
Spreading the Wealth
The Oilers rank third in the GLIAC with 14.4 assists per game.
Individually, senior guard Kyle Caiola is ranked seventh in the GLIAC in assists per game with 3.6 per contest.
Pounding the Boards
The Oilers are ranked fifth in the GLIAC with 36.6 rebounds per game.
Stroking 3's
Senior guard Kyle Caiola leads the team and ranks ninth in the GLIAC in three point shooting percentage, hitting 41.8 percent of his long range attempts.
Sophomore forward Greg Kahlig is ranked 12th as well with a 39.5 percent shooting clip from long range.
As a team, the Oilers are hitting 36.0 percent of their three pointers, which is the fourth best mark in the GLIAC.
They are also making 6.6 three pointers per contest, the fourth best total in the conference.
Winning Big
The Oilers lead the GLIAC in point differential as they are out-scoring their opponents by 11.0 points per game.
The scoring margin is the 28th best in the nation.
Taking Care of the Rock
Senior guard Kyle Caiola ranks sixth in the GLIAC in assist to turnover ratio at 1.7 on the year.
Simply the Best
The Oilers have the best winning percentage in NCAA Division II competition since the year 2000, having won 299 games and lost only 61 for a percentage of .831.
A Tough Place to Play
The Oilers are 524-110 (.826) in Croy Gymnasium since they starting playing home games there during the 1969-70 season.
In the past nine years, the Oilers are a staggering 148-3 at home for a winning percentage of .980.
Dominating GLIAC Home Games
The Oilers have won 72 straight GLIAC games at home during the regular season.
Their last loss at home in conference play came in 70-68 fashion against Gannon University on February 12, 2004.
Handling Non-Conference Foes
The Oilers have posted a 78-4 record (.951) against non-conference opponents in games played at Croy Gymnasium during the past ten years.
Putting the Ball in the Hole
Senior guard Kyle Caiola has been a tremendous scorer during his career and has racked up 1,676 points during his tenure at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and The University of Findlay.
Playing his first two seasons at Massachusetts-Lowell, Caiola scored 1,043 points. He has since scored 633 with the Oilers after transferring in last season.
Conference Championships
The Oilers have won ten GLIAC South Division titles in their 14-year affiliation with the conference and have also won five conference tournaments, capturing titles in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010.
In the last ten years, the Oilers have won nine GLIAC South Division titles.
GLIAC Tournament Success
The Oilers currently sport a 22-6 record in the GLIAC Tournament, winning titles in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2010.
Findlay has appeared in the championship game of the event seven times in the past nine years. They reached the finals in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
National Treasure
The Oilers have appeared in nine of the last ten NCAA Division II National Tournaments with a 15-8 record, reaching the Elite Eight during the 2004-05 campaign and the Final Four in the 2008-09 season when they captured their first NCAA Division II National Championship.
They also reached the Sweet 16 during the 2007-08 campaign.
Passing Their Way into the Record Book
The Oilers dished out a school record 30 assists in their lopsided 98-57 win over Notre Dame (Ohio) on December 3.
The previous record of 28 was established twice before in a 94-45 win over Rio Grande (12/22/2007) and a 99-67 win against Lake Erie (11/27/2006).
Breaking Board Records
The Oilers broke a school record in their first game of the season after snatching 63 rebounds in their 92-62 win at home over Ohio Valley on November 12.
The previous record of 56 rebounds came in a 102-54 win against Tiffin on December 18, 2001.
Preseason GLIAC Poll
The Oilers received a league-best 170 points and 20 first place votes in the 2011-12 Preseason GLIAC Poll, which was released on November 2.
They have won nine GLIAC South Division titles in the past ten years.
Preseason All-GLIAC
Senior guard Kyle Caiola was tabbed a first team all-conference pick while junior guard Aaron Robinson earned second team all-league honors during the preseason.
Caiola, who was a first team all-league pick last year, averaged 14.0 points per game last season.
Robinson, an all-defensive team selection last year, averaged 10.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 2010-11.
Preseason All-American
Senior guard Kyle Caiola was tabbed an honorable mention All-American by the Sporting News.
Caiola, a first team all-conference selection last year, averaged 14.0 points per game during his junior season.
Helpful Links
For more information on the GLIAC, please click on the following link:
For more information on NCAA Division II Men's Basketball, please click on the following links: