#25 Oilers Fall in Sweet 16 to #2 Bellarmine
Louisville, KY - Another historic season of Findlay Oilers basketball came to a close on Tuesday, March 14 in Louisville, Kentucky with a Sweet 16 loss to Bellarmine University. The 84-66 loss to the #2 team in the land ends the Oilers' season with a 25-7 record, the 11th time that the program has reached the 25-win plateau. It was the fourth time that Findlay reached the Sweet 16 and the first since 2009.
The game was back-and-forth to begin with each team holding at most a six point lead at some point in the first ten minutes of action. Bellarmine used an 8-0 run midway through the first quarter to push their lead to ten, their largest lead of the half, but Findlay answered with an 8-0 run of their own to pull within two points at 36-34. A Bellarmine basket with one minute left in the half would lead to the halftime score of 41-39.
In the second half, Bellarmine would take over as they started hitting shots from all over the floor. In the final half, the Knights shot 60.9% from the floor including 5-of-12 from deep. They also made 10-of-12 from the charity stripe to help seal the victory.
In the game, the Oilers shot 24-of-61 for 39.3% and made 10-of-31 from deep for 32.3% while the Knights made 26-of-50 (52%) from the floor and 13-of-29 (44.8%) from three point territory. Bellarmine hit 19-of-23 from the free-throw line in the game.
The Knights won the rebound battle 35-29 and had 20 assists to Findlay's 10. The Oilers turned the ball over just nine times and forced 10 turnovers, but the Knights turned the Findlay turnovers into 18 points while Findlay scored 10 off Bellarmine's misques.
Junior Taren Sullivan, who was named to the Midwest Region All-Tournament Team, led the Oilers with 22 points on 9-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-5 from deep. He also led Findlay with eight rebounds and three assists. Junior teammate Martyce Kimbrough, also named to the all-tournament team, scored 12 points and grabbed five boards.
Other players with double-figures were sophomore Trey Smith with 11 and junior Elijah Kahlig with 10.
A pair of seniors played their final game in the Orange and Black. Tyler Stern-Tucker scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out three assists. He finished his career with 729 points scored, 385 rebounds, 96 assists, 49 steals, and 30 blocks. Ricardo Smith ends his career with 479 points scored, 326 rebounds, 184 assists, and 60 blocks. The two seinors helped the Oilers to 85 wins and just 32 losses.