Huskies Take Down #13 Oilers 66-49
The University of Findlay men's basketball team, ranked 13th in the nation, dropped a 66-49 decision to Michigan Technological University on Thursday, Dec. 6 in Houghton, Michigan. The loss gives the Oilers a 4-2 record on the year with a 2-1 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
The Oilers got off to poor starts at the beginning of each half as they fell behind 14-3 in the first seven minutes of the game before closing the gap to 27-24 at the break. Then in the second half, the Huskies went on a small 6-0 spurt in the first three minutes to widen their advantage.
Findlay climbed back to within six at 43-37 with just over ten minutes to play, but the Huskies went on a 10-0 run in the next three minutes to make the score 53-37 with 7:24 remaining in the game. The Oilers then went on an 8-0 run to close the gap to eight at 53-45 with a little over four minutes left, but the Huskies made their free throws down the stretch to close the game out.
Sophomore forward Jake Heagen had his best game of the season with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He also hit 4-of-5 attempts from behind the three point line to go along with four rebounds and two steals.
Senior guard Aaron Robinson also reached double figures with 12 points while freshman guard Alphonso Baity added nine points off the bench.
The Oilers had trouble making shots during their first road game of the season as they hit only 34.6 percent (18-of-52) of their shots. They also hit only 25 percent (6-of-24) of their three point attempts and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) of their shots from the charity stripe.
The Huskies, who shot 47.7 percent (21-of-44) from the floor, were led by All-American Ali Haidar's 22 points and 15 rebounds.
The Oilers will now prepare to battle Northern Michigan University on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 1 p.m. in Marquette, Mich.