Kahlig Scores 40 in Oilers 79-69 Win Over Storm
The University of Findlay men's basketball team rode the hot hand of senior forward Greg Kahlig to a 79-69 win over Lake Erie College on Saturday, Feb. 15 in Painesville, Ohio.
In a game that featured 26 lead changes and 11 ties, Kahlig poured in a career-high 40 points on 11-of-16 shooting and came up with some huge buckets down the stretch to will the Oilers to a victory.
The Oilers found themselves down by one at 65-64 with just under four minutes remaining in the game. Kahlig then toed the free throw line and converted two from the charity stripe to give Findlay a 66-65 advantage with 3:37 to play. Lake Erie would then get a jumper from Riley Thomas to retake the lead before Kahlig hit another pair at the free throw line.
Up 68-67 with 1:32 showing on the clock, Kahlig hit a big three pointer to give the Oilers a little breathing room. The Oilers then tacked on eight more points at the free throw line down the stretch, including four from sophomore guard Alphonso Baity, to help them push their record to 19-4 on the year.
Kahlig hit 6-of-10 shot attempts from behind the three point line and also canned 12-of-13 tries from the charity stripe. He also added seven rebounds and three steals in the game, becoming the Oilers first player to score 40 or more points in a game since Kyle Hunt put up 42 against Benedictine on Dec. 14, 2000.
Junior forward Jake Heagen played a great game for the Oilers as well, scoring 15 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists.
Baity added eight points and six assists while sophomore guard Dylan Kaufman chipped in six points and four rebounds.
The Oilers, who improved to 15-4 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) with the victory, shot 51.2 percent (21-of-41) from the floor and canned 11-of-20 (55%) shot attempts from behind the three point line. They also hit 83.9 percent (26-of-31) of their free throw attempts and came away with eight blocks in the game.
The Storm meanwhile shot 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the floor and forced the Oilers into 17 turnovers.
Riley Thomas led Lake Erie with 17 points while Nate Tait scored 13.
The Oilers will now prepare for a key GLIAC South Division game at Walsh on Feb. 20. The contest is scheduled to tip at 7:30 p.m. in Canton, Ohio.