Oilers Come Up Short Against Lakers
The University of Findlay men's basketball team fell 90-85 against Lake Superior State University on Dec. 10 in Croy Gymnasium. The loss, which was only their sixth in the past 122 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) games in Croy, gives them a 5-3 record on the season.
The Oilers, who raced out to a 34-21 advantage through the first ten minutes of the game, found themselves down 50-42 at the break. The Lakers eventually extended their lead to 18 points at 72-54 with ten minutes to play in the second half before the Oilers fought back, chipping the lead to only five points at 78-73 with 3:31 remaining. The Lakers would then hold off the Oilers down the stretch to even Findlay's record at 2-2 in the GLIAC this season.
Junior guard Martyce Kimbrough had a hot hand for Findlay as he poured in a career-high 38 points on 11-of-21 shooting. Kimbrough hit 8-of-16 attempts from behind the three point line and made 8-of-9 tries from the charity stripe in the game. His 38 points were the most scored by an Oilers player since former UF All-American Greg Kahlig recorded 55 points against Walsh University on March 8, 2014.
Junior forward Taren Sullivan recorded his second career double-double with 15 points and ten rebounds as well. Sullivan connected on 6-of-17 shot attempts from the field and also added five assists, three steals and a block.
Junior guard Ricardo Smith nearly recorded a double-double with ten points and eight rebounds while junior guard Elijah Kahlig had ten points as well.
The Oilers only shot 39.7 percent (27-of-68) from the floor and made 15-of-42 (35.7%) attempts from behind the three point line. Their 42 attempts from long range established a new school record, eclipsing the old record of 40 set against Ashland on Dec. 1, 2007.
The Lakers meanwhile hit 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the floor and canned 13-of-28 (46.4%) attempts from three point range. They also held a 39-34 advantage on the boards and made 19-of-26 (73.1%) tries from the charity stripe.
Akaemji Williams led the Lakers with 32 points and eight assists while Blake Marquadt had 28 points, which included eight three pointers. Michael Nicholson was a force in the paint for the Lakers as well as he finished with 14 points and 18 rebounds.
The Oilers will be back in action again next Thursday when they travel to Marquette, Mich. to take on Northern Michigan University at 8 p.m.