#15 Oilers Host Tech/N. Michigan this Week
The University of Findlay men's basketball team, ranked 15th in the nation, will host Michigan Technological University and Northern Michigan University this week in Croy Gymnasium. The Oilers will play the Huskies at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12 and then face the Wildcats on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 3 p.m.
Sights and Sounds
All Oilers basketball games can be heard on 88.3 FM "WLFC" or on the internet via their web site.
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 the internet. You can watch the games live by clicking on the following link:
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 window located on the left side of the Oilers athletic website.
Center Court with Charlie Ernst
Don't forget to tune into 88.3 FM "WLFC" for Center Court with Charlie Ernst. The radio show will be broadcast live from Fricker's on Monday evenings during the season. The show will be aired live from 6-7 p.m. Fans are encouraged to attend the show so they can listen live over the sound system and enjoy the great food Fricker's has to offer.
Fans are also encouraged to send questions in for coach Ernst through Twitter. Please send questions during the show to Tim Montgomery and Jason Granger at @Oilersonair.
To find an archive of the show, please click below:
Center Court with Charlie Ernst
For more information on Fricker's, please click below:
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Series Information
The Oilers hold a 16-7 advantage in the all-time series against the Huskies dating back to the 1997-98 campaign when Michigan Tech was victorious by an 81-71 margin.
Last year, the Oilers knocked off the Huskies by a score of 54-51 in the semifinals of the GLIAC Tournament in Houghton, Mich. behind 15 points from Greg Kahlig.
Brad Piehl added 12 points, eight boards and a pair of steals while Jake Heagen scored seven points in the win.
The Oilers also played the Huskies during the regular season and fell by a score of 66-49.
Jake Heagen finished 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.
Findlay has an 8-2 record against the Huskies in their last ten meetings.
The Oilers sport a 15-3 record against the Wildcats dating back to the 1997-98 campaign when Northern Michigan came out on top by a score of 68-57.
Findlay claimed an 80-62 win at Northern Michigan last year on the strength of their 56.9 percent shooting clip in the game.
The Oilers drained 8-of-18 (44.4%) attempts from behind the three point line in the win. They also forced 20 turnovers and came away with 15 steals in the game.
Aaron Robinson led the team with 18 points five steals and four assists in the game.
Mark Frilling also had a huge game for the Oilers off the bench with a career-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Frilling also added six rebounds in 21 minutes.
The Oilers have won their last nine games against the Wildcats.
Findlay
Northwood University knocked off the Oilers men's basketball team by a score of 86-69 on Saturday, Dec. 7 in Midland, Mich.
The Oilers, who fall to 4-1 on the year with a 1-1 record in conference play with the loss, shot only 37.1 percent (23-of-62) from the floor and connected on a mere 3-of-25 (12%) shot attempts from behind the three point line.
Northwood in comparison hit 46.4 percent (26-of-56) of their field goal attempts and swished 9-of-21 (42.9%) triple tries in the game.
Jake Heagen led the team with 20 points and 11 rebounds while Alphonso Baity recorded 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Greg Kahlig contributed nine points, but hit only 2-of-16 shot attempts in the game. He also missed all eight of his three point tries, but added four rebounds, two assists and a block.
John Staley had eight points and Ricardo Smith came off the bench to record six points in the loss.
The Timberwolves had four players reach double figures as Darvin Ham led the way with 21 points and nine boards. Wes Wilcox and Dylan Langkabel had 17 points apiece while Khalid King contributed 16 points in the game.
Findlay Basketball Links
Michigan Tech
The Huskies are 4-1 on the season with a 1-1 record in conference play and are coming off of a 93-83 loss at home against Walsh.
Austin Armga and Ben Stelzer have provided the Huskies with a great one-two scoring punch as they are averaging 30.0 and 21.2 points per game, respectively.
Armga is shooting 67.5 percent from the field while Stelzer is making 4.4 three pointers per contest.
Michigan Tech Basketball Links
Northern Michigan
The Wildcats sport a 1-5 record on the season with a 0-2 mark in conference play. They are coming off of an 82-65 loss at home against Malone.
Marcus Hall leads the team with a 15.0 points per game average while Justin Newell (11.8) and Dorrell Foster (10.5) are also averaging in double figures on a nightly basis.
Northern Michigan Basketball Links
An Elite Program
The Oilers have the second best winning percentage in NCAA Division II competition since the year 2000, having won 336 games and lost only 74 for an overall winning percentage of .820.
1,000-Point Club
Senior forward Greg Kahlig ranks 27th all-time at Findlay with 1,243 career points. He is chasing Randy Siefker (1993-96) for 26th place on the Oilers all-time scoring list.
Siefker scored 1,266 career points with the Oilers during his tenure.
Getting Buckets
Senior forward Greg Kahlig is averaging 20.4 points per game this season, the eighth best total in the GLIAC.
Among the top-13 scorers in the GLIAC, Kahlig is the only player to be averaging less than 25 minutes per game. The Ft. Recovery, Ohio native is logging 24.6 minutes per contest this season.
As a team the Oilers are averaging 91.0 points per game, the second best mark in the conference.
Pounding the Boards
The Oilers are averaging a league-best 43.8 rebounds per game this season and are led by junior forward Jake Heagen, who ranks third in the GLIAC with 8.4 rebounds per contest.
Heagen has recorded two double-doubles so far this season. He had 13 points and 12 rebounds in a 96-68 win at Cedarville on Nov. 14 and recorded 20 points and 11 boards during the Oilers 86-69 loss at Northwood on Dec. 7.
Playing Smart
The Oilers are leading the league and rank second in the nation in fewest turnovers per game, averaging only 8.6 per contest.
Individually, sophomore guard Dylan Kaufman ranks second in the league with a 7.0 assists/turnover ratio.
Swatting Shots
Findlay is blocking 4.4 shots per game, the second best total in the GLIAC. They have been led by sophomore guard Alphonso Baity, who ranks eighth in the league with a 1.0 blocked shot per game average.
Taking the Lead
The Oilers have come out of the gates clicking on all cylinders, out-scoring their opponents by a 234-167 margin in the first half of their games.
Racking up the Victories
The Oilers have been playing basketball since the 1902-03 campaign and have amassed a 1,447-860-2 (.627) record since their initial season of competition.
A Tough Place to Play
The Oilers are 544-112 (.829) in Croy Gymnasium since they starting playing home games there during the 1969-70 season. The number is even better in the past ten years as the Oilers are a staggering 154-4 at home for a winning percentage of .975.
Dominating GLIAC Home Games
The Oilers have won 86 of their last 87 regular season conference games at home. They fell 57-55 to Tiffin University on Jan. 12, 2013. Before that game, their last loss came in 70-68 fashion against Gannon University on February 12, 2004.
Handling Non-Conference Foes
The Oilers have posted a 68-3 record (.958) against non-conference opponents in games played at Croy Gymnasium during the past ten years.
Their last loss at home to a non-conference team came against #1 West Liberty State by a score of 90-74 on Nov. 14, 2012.
The 20-Win Plateau
The Oilers have achieved 20 wins in each of the past 12 years. The last time they failed to reach the 20-win plateau came during the 2000-01 campaign when they went 19-11.
Kahlig Named GLIAC Player of the Week
Senior forward Greg Kahlg was named the GLIAC South Division Player of the Week on Nov. 20 for his performances in the Oilers first three games of the 2013-14 season.
Kahlig averaged 21.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in helping the Oilers start the season with a 3-0 record. The Ft. Recovery, Ohio native also shot 55.6 percent from the floor, 43.8 percent from behind the three point line and 80.0 percent from the charity stripe in the three contests.
Conference Championships
The Oilers have won 11 GLIAC South Division titles in their 16-year affiliation with the conference and have also won seven conference tournaments, capturing titles in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Their seven tournament titles are the most in GLIAC history.
In the last 12 years, the Oilers have won ten GLIAC South Division titles. Overall, Findlay has won GLIAC South Division titles in 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013.
GLIAC Tournament Success
The Oilers sport a 28-6 record in the GLIAC Tournament, winning titles in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013.
Findlay has appeared in the championship game of the event nine times in the past 11 years. They reached the finals in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013.
The Oilers have captured seven GLIAC Tournament titles, the most in league history. Their win in the 2013 tournament gave them two in a row away from home, the first time a school has ever accomplished the feat in the GLIAC.
Taking Care of Business
The Oilers have never lost a GLIAC Tournament game at home. Since 2002-03, the Oilers have an 19-0 record in GLIAC Tournament games within the friendly confines of Croy Gymnasium.
Dancing
The Oilers have appeared in 11 out of the last 12 NCAA Division II National Tournaments with a 16-10 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.
Preseason GLIAC Player of the Year
Senior forward Greg Kahlig was voted the favorite to win the player of the year award in the GLIAC for the 2013-14 season.
Kahlig was a first team all-conference and first team all-region performer for the Oilers last season when he averaged 17.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Preseason Favorites
The Oilers were picked as the preseason favorite to win the GLIAC South Division as they received a league-best 24 first place votes in the annual poll. They also had a league-high 192 votes and are coming off of back-to-back GLIAC Tournament victories.
Preseason All-GLIAC
Senior forward Greg Kahlig and junior forward Jake Heagen were each named first team all-conference in the preseason.
Kahlig averaged 17.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last year for the Oilers while Heagen sported averages of 8.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest.
Preseason All-American
Senior forward Greg Kahlig was picked as a preseason All-American by NCAA Division II Bulletin after being named first team all-region and first team all-conference last year for the Oilers.
The Ft. Recovery, Ohio native averaged 17.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game during his junior season. He also shot 48.9 percent from the floor, 44.1 percent from behind the three point line and 84.6 percent from the charity stripe.
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:
Photo by Matthias Leguire