#8 Oilers Fall to #7 Knights in Round of 32
The 8th-ranked University of Findlay men's basketball team fell 74-59 in the round of 32 to 7th-ranked Bellarmine University on March 17 in Romeoville, Ill. The loss ends the Oilers season as they finish the 2018-19 campaign with a 28-5 record.
The game was tightly contested and the Oilers held a 44-40 lead with 15 minutes to play. Bellarmine then slowly grinded away and took a 50-46 lead with under ten minutes to play. The Knights then went on a 14-4 run in the next eight minutes to put the game away.
The Oilers only shot 35 percent (21-of-60) from the floor while the Knights hit 59.5 percent (25-of-42) of their field goal attempts. The Oilers did grab 13 offensive rebounds and came away with nine steals in the game.
Senior forward Alex White carried the Oilers in the game, scoring 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting. He also added eight rebounds and four steals in the loss.
White ends his career with 1,202 points, the 34th-highest total in school history. He also ended his senior campaign with 617 points, the eighth-best total in program history. His 59 blocked shots during his final season also set a new school record and his 130 career blocks is a Findlay record as well.
Senior guard Trey Smith reached double figures with 13 points while sophomore guard Tommy Schmock had eight points, two rebounds, and two assists. Schmock finishes the season with a school record 196 assists while Smith finishes the year with 77 made three pointers, which is the seventh-highest total in school history.
The Oilers also set a new school record for assists in a season as they finished the year with 566.
The Knights were led by Adam Eberhard's 30 points. C.J. Fleming provided a huge spark off the bench with 13 points as well.