Oilers to be Featured on ESPN
The University of Findlay men and women's basketball Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) doubleheader against Kentucky Wesleyan College on Jan. 27 has been selected to stream via ESPN3 on the ESPN App as a part of the Division II Basketball Showcase. The men's game is scheduled to begin at 1pm with the women following at 3pm in Croy Gymnasium.
"Division II's continued collaboration with ESPN provides an exciting opportunity to share the accomplishments of our student-athletes with a broad national audience," said Terri Steeb Gronau, vice president of Division II. "We are thrilled to continue to promote the efforts of men's and women's basketball student-athletes on the court, in the classroom and in their communities."
The Oilers men's basketball team has high expectations this season after reaching the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 one year ago. Findlay finished the 2016-17 season with a 25-7 record and were ranked 25th in the nation in the final National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll of the year.
Senior guard Martyce Kimbrough and senior forward Taren Sullivan are back to lead the squad. Kimbrough earned honorable mention all-American accolades for the Oilers last season and was also a first team all-conference and first team all-region pick. Sullivan meanwhile earned first team all-conference and second team all-region honors.
Kimbrough finished last season averaging 19.3 points per game. He set school records for most made three pointers (114) and most attempted triples (282) while shooting 40.4 percent from long range. His 617 points scored were also the eighth-highest total in school history.
Sullivan, a 2017-18 preseason all-American, averaged 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He also shot a team-high 55.2 percent (233-of-422) from the floor and made a team-high 44.8 percent (64-of-143) of his three point tries.
The Oilers also return senior guards Elijah Kahlig and Austin Gardner to a roster that also features a lot of young talent. Kahlig averaged 10.9 points per game and shot 41.3 percent (76-of-184) from behind the three point line. Gardner meanwhile averaged 5.2 points and 6.3 assists per game before an injury cut his season short.
They will be facing a Panthers team that went 28-3 last season and were ranked fifth in the nation. Junior forward Malek Harris will be back to lead the team after averaging 10.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
The Oilers women's basketball team finished last season with a 13-15 record and will return their top-four scorers from a year ago.
Senior guard Haley Horstman is back after averaging a team-high 9.6 points per contest while junior center Christa Puthoff returns after posting 9.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
Senior guard Lynsey Englebrecht posted 9.1 points and shot 41.2 percent (61-of-148) from three point range while junior forward Anna Hintz stuffed the stat sheet with averages of 8.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.
Findlay will face a Kentucky Wesleyan program that finished the 2016-17 campaign with a 19-8 record. Junior guard Shayla Wright returns to lead the squad after posting 8.6 points per game last year.
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