Oilers Suffer 77-69 Loss at Malone
The University of Findlay men's basketball team fell 77-69 to Malone University on Saturday, Feb. 23 in Canton, Ohio. The loss gives the Oilers an 18-7 record on the season with a 15-6 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
The Pioneers hit eight three pointers in the first half en route to a 38-29 lead and continued their hot shooting early in the second half as their lead ballooned to 15. The Oilers then rallied back and cut the lead to one at 53-52 when junior forward Greg Kahlig drained a triple before Malone extended their lead back out to ten.
Trailing by ten at 64-54 with just over five minutes remaining, the Oilers made one last push and cut the lead to two at 71-69 when senior guard Aaron Robinson connected on a three pointer with only 54 seconds remaining. The Pioneers then regained control as the Oilers saw their five-game winning streak come to a halt.
The Oilers shot only 36.2 percent (21-of-58) in the game, but did hit 21-of-23 (91.3%) attempts from the free throw line. The Pioneers meanwhile connected on 49.1 percent (27-of-55) of their shot attempts and drained 11-of-25 (44%) three point tries in the game.
Sophomore forward Jake Heagen had 18 points and eight rebounds while junior forward Greg Kahlig also chipped in 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting.
Senior forward Brad Piehl also reached double figures with 13 points to go along with 13 rebounds.
Robinson added nine points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Christian Graves led five Malone players in double figures with 19 points.
The Oilers, who claimed sole possession of the GLIAC South Division title despite the loss, will be back in action again next Saturday when they host Hillsdale College in their final regular season game. The contest is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. in Croy Gymnasium.