Sullivan Shines | Oilers Survive Storm
Findlay, OH – The University of Findlay men's basketball team faced a battle from the Storm of Lake Erie College on Saturday, Jan. 21 in Croy Gymnasium. After nine ties and 11 lead changes, the Oilers ultimately prevailed by a final of 81-79 and improve to 14-4 overall and 8-3 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play.
Eight points was the largest lead of the first half and it belonged to the Oilers at 31-23 with 6:47 to play in the half. With the score at 37-30, the Storm closed the half on a 9-2 run including a buzzer beating layup that knotted the score at 39-39 through 20 minutes of play.
The second half was back and forth and at one point, the Oilers found themselves trailing 76-70 after Ryan Middendorf hit a three for the Storm with 4:25 to play in the game. In those final four and a half minutes, Findlay would allow only three points and score 11, including a big three from sophomore Trey Smith that regained the Oilers the lead at 77-76 with 2:27 to play. The game-winner came with eight seconds on the clock when junior Taren Sullivan hit a turnaround jumper from the baseline off an assists from junior Elijah Kahlig.
Findlay made 30-of-69 (43.5%) from the floor and just 6-of-22 (27.3%) from deep while the Storm shot a blistering 31-of-56 (55.4%) and made a season-high 11-of-24 (45.8%) from beyond the arc. A big factor came at the charity stripe where the storm made just 6-of-8 from the line and the Orange and Black hit 15-of-20.
For the second consecutive game, Lima natives Taren Sullivan and Martyce Kimbrough each contributed 20+ points of offense. Sullivan posted his third double-double of the year and sixth game with more than twenty points as he led all scorers with 22 points and led all rebounders with 11 boards. He also had a game-high five assists and three steals. Kimbrough poured in 20 points on 7-of-23 from the floor. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
Junior Elijah Kahlig contributed 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists while freshman Aaron Overhiser scored eight points and grabbed nine boards.
Findlay will be back in action on Thursday, Jan. 26 when they travel to Tiffin to take on the Dragons. That game will begin at 7:30 pm.