Oilers Soar Past Cardinals to Earn 12-Point Victory
University Center, Mich. – The University of Findlay men's basketball team picked up a non-conference win on Tuesday, Nov. 22 with a trip to take on Saginaw Valley State University. The Oilers used a hot-shooting second half to pick up an 85-73 victory over the Cardinals to improve to 2-2 on the young season while SVSU falls to 2-3.
For the first 14 minutes of action, the two teams were essentially deadlocked as they swapped leads multiple times, each at one point holding a four-point advantage. With six minutes to play in the half, the Oilers went on a 9-0 run to take a 39-30 lead, the largest of the game to that point. However, the final six points of the half belonged to SVSU and Findlay would take a three-point lead into the break.
A 15-5 run by the Cardinals midway through the second half erased a ten-point Findlay lead, tying the game at 66 with just over six minutes to play. The Oilers then countered with an 11-0 run of their own to go ahead 77-66, all but putting the game out of reach for Saginaw Valley.
In the first half, both teams shot 15-of-37 (.405) from the floor, but the Oilers struggled from deep, making just 4-of-17. For Findlay, the second half was much more production as the Orange and Black hit 16-of-28 (.571) and 4-of-9 (.444) from deep. The second half also saw Findlay get to the charity stripe, hitting 10-of-11 in those 20 minutes alone.
For the game Findlay made 31-of-65 (.477) and keyed in on free-throws, making 15-of-17 (.882). One of the biggest factors in Tuesday's contest was turnovers. The Oilers turned it over just four times, two in each half, while forcing the Cardinals into 14 miscues. Those extra possessions were important as the Cardinals actually held a significant advantage on the glass, grabbing 46 rebounds to just 32 for Findlay.
Senior Nathan Bruns and senior Joey Edmonds led the way for the Oilers, each scoring 22 points in a winning effort. Bruns made 8-of-13 shots while Edmonds hit 7-of-12 including a perfect 6-of-6 effort from the free throw line. Bruns also led the Oilers with eight rebounds and five assists, rounding out his most balanced game so far this season.
Junior Andrew Owens had the second-best scoring night of his career, pouring in 19 points, the most he has had in a game since scoring 20 against Kentucky Wesleyan on Feb. 16, 2021. Owens cashed in on a trio of triples and snagged five rebounds.
Earning his first start of his career, freshman Max Roth scored eight points while playing 27 minutes on Tuesday. Roth was 3-of-6 from the floor and added four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Freshman Jagger Landers scored four points and had five rebounds while freshman Mason Brandt had five points and three rebounds.
Findlay will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 26 with a home game against Point Park University, an NAIA competitor that plays in the River States Conference (RSC). That game will tip off at 7:00 pm in Croy Gymnasium.