Findlay Fights Off Cardinals Comeback
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Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay men's basketball team picked up a hard-fought victory on Tuesday, Dec. 6 in Croy Gymnasium with a 79-73 victory over the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The Oilers never trailed in the contest en route to improving their record to 5-3 while SVSU falls to 4-5. With the victory, Head Coach Charlie Ernst, in his 12th season at the helm, now has 250 wins in his career.
Early on, Tuesday's contest looked like it would be a blowout as just ten minutes in, Findlay had built a 27-12 lead and with 5:13 to play in the first half, held a 24-point lead, their largest of the game.
However, over the final four-and-a-half minutes, the Cardinals powered their way through a 12-3 run, closing the gap to 47-32 at the break.
The Oilers kept the visiting team at arm's length for the first ten minutes of the half, but a 9-0 midway through the period saw momentum shift the way of the Blue and Red as the Cardinals had cut Findlay's lead to 63-59 with just 7:21 remaining.
With just a minute left, SVSU forced the Oilers into a turnover and pulled within striking distance at 74-71 with 50 seconds to play, but Findlay went 5-for-6 at the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.
Senior Nathan Bruns scored a game-high 22 points, his fourth game this season with 20+ points, and he was 4-for-4 from three-point range. He has now made nine consecutive threes dating back to the second half of the game against Ashland on Dec. 1. The Maria Stein, Ohio native also had a game-high nine rebounds while adding a pair of assists and a block.
Scoring 13 points for Findlay was senior Joey Edmonds who hit a trio of triples. He led the team with four assists.
Taking advantage of his new role as a starter has been freshman Max Roth who scored double-figures for the second consecutive game. In Tuesday's win, Roth scored 11 points and snagged eight rebounds while leading the team with a pair of steals and a block. Down the stretch, the Findlay, Ohio native drew a pair of charges on back-to-back possessions, helping stave of the Cardinals' comeback.
Coming off the bench, freshman Jagger Landers scored ten points and grabbed five rebounds.
Both teams shot well in the game as each team finished around the 50% mark. Findlay took advantage of their opportunities from deep, making 13-of-24 from beyond the arc while SVSU hit just 6-of-17.
Findlay is back on the court with a home game on Saturday, December 10 against the Tiffin Dragons. That game will tip off at 3:00 pm following the conclusion of the women's game.