Oilers Hang On for 73-71 Win over NMU
The University of Findlay men's basketball team held on for a 73-71 win over Northern Michigan on Dec. 12 in Croy Gymnasium. The win evens the Oilers record at 4-4 on the season with a 2-2 mark in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play.
The Oilers jumped out to a 43-29 lead at the half on the strength of an 8-of-13 (61.5%) performance from behind the three point line. The Wildcats would not go quietly however as they fought back to take a 65-64 lead with three minutes to play.
Trailing by one point, freshman forward Alex White scored the next three points for the Oilers to give them a 67-65 advantage with just over two minutes remaining. Junior forward Tyler Stern-Tucker then split a pair of free throws to push the lead to three before the Wildcats scored to cut the lead back to one.
After trading a few buckets, sophomore guard Austin Gardner split a pair at the line and fellow sophomore guard Martyce Kimbrough made two attempts from the charity stripe with only eight seconds remaining to give Findlay a 73-69 lead. The Wildcats would then score on a lay-up for the final margin of the game.
The Oilers shot a season-high 49 percent (24-of-49) from the floor, but were out-rebounded 42-27. They hit 60 percent (9-of-15) of their three point attempts and had 13 assists in the win.
Kimbrough paced the team with 14 points and five assists while White had a career-high 14 points to go along with six rebounds.
Senior guard Dylan Kaufman had 11 points and sophomore guard Elijah Kahlig and Stern-Tucker each had eight points each in the victory.
Jordan Perez led the Wildcats with 28 points and seven rebounds.
The Oilers will host Marygrove on Dec. 19 in their next game. The game is scheduled to tip at 3pm in Croy Gymnasium.