#25 Eagles Defeat Oilers 67-64
The University of Findlay men's basketball team suffered a 67-64 loss at 25th-ranked Ashland University on Feb. 11. The loss gives the Oilers a 17-6 record on the season with a 14-4 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
The Oilers fell behind by ten at 40-30 when the first half buzzer sounded, but opened the final period on a 19-6 run to take a 49-46 lead with under ten minutes to play. The Eagles then countered and held a 60-59 lead with just over a minute remaining before burying a three pointer to make the score 63-59 with only 32 ticks left.
Down 65-59 with under 15 seconds to play, sophomore guard Austin Gardner connected on a layup before the Oilers forced a turnover and got a deep triple from sophomore forward Taren Sullivan. The quick scores cut the Eagles lead to one point at 65-64 with eight seconds showing on the clock.
Trailing by one, the Oilers were forced to foul and Ashland took advantage with a pair of free throws. The Oilers then missed a triple at the buzzer as their 12-game winning streak came to an end.
The Oilers shot 45 percent (27-of-60) from the floor and held the Eagles to a 40 percent (22-of-55) shooting clip. The Eagles did however made nine three pointers while the Oilers only connected on four. Ashland also made 14-of-17 attempts from the free throw line while the Oilers only made 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Senior forward John Staley led the Oilers with 16 points and eight rebounds while Sullivan and sophomore guard Martyce Kimbrough had 13 points apiece.
Sophomore guard Nick Ruthsatz provided valuable minutes off the bench and contributed seven points while junior guard Ricardo Smith had six rebounds.
The Oilers will return to the court again on Saturday when they travel to Painesville, Ohio to face Lake Erie College at 3 p.m.