Findlay Falls in Regular Season Home Opener
Postgame with Associate Head Coach Dan Shardo (88.3 WLFC)
Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay men's basketball team had their regular season home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 16 against the visiting Grand Valley State Lakers. Despite a lead late in the first half, the Oilers came up short, falling by a score of 73-65 against their in-region opponent from Allendale, Michigan. With the loss, Findlay falls to 1-2 on the season while GVSU improves to 2-1.
Grand Valley jumped out to an 11-1 lead just four minutes into the game and maintained that lead to 16-6. Over the next six minutes of play, Findlay outscored the Lakers 19-9 to tie the game at 25.
Findlay held its' only lead of the game when freshman Jagger Landers hit a three pointer with three minutes to play in the first half, but a 10-2 run over the final three minutes gave the Lakers the lead at halftime, one they would not relinquish.
Findlay hit 23-of-56 (.411) from the floor while GVSU made 27-of-52 (.519). The Lakers hit a high percentage of their threes, but did not have many attempts, making just 6-of-15 (.400). Findlay struggled, hitting just 8-of-29 (.411) from deep.
The Lakers were intentional about getting the ball down low, scoring 30 points in the paint to the Oilers' 20 and, on the glass, GV held a 35-to-28 advantage.
Freshman Jagger Landers led the way with 13 points off the bench, hitting 4-of-8 from the floor including 2-of-4 from deep and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed four rebounds and had a steal.
Senior Joey Edmonds scored 11 points and had four assists and three rebounds while freshman Khalil Luster scored eight points off the bench, had four assist, and three rebounds. Senior forward Nathan Bruns had a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with seven points, two assists, and a steal.
The Oilers hit the road for their next contest, traveling north to take on Saginaw Valley State on Tuesday, Nov. 22. That game is at 7:00 pm.