Oilers Fight Back for 82-79 Win at ODU
The University of Findlay men's basketball team escaped Columbus, Ohio with an 82-79 win over Ohio Dominican University on Feb. 9. The victory gives the Oilers an 18-5 record on the season with a 12-4 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
The Oilers took a 37-36 lead at the half, but racked up the fouls in the second half of the game that allowed Ohio Dominican to capture the lead and slowly add to it throughout the final period. The Panthers eventually built a 77-67 lead with 3:06 to play. The Oiler would then score seven straight points in the next two minutes to cut the lead to three before the Panthers stopped the bleeding with a bucket.
Down 79-74 with 1:17 to play, junior guard Elijah Kahlig made a short jumper to cut the lead back to three points at 79-76. A turnover led to a three pointer by junior guard Martyce Kimbrough and another turnover by the Panthers was converted into a bucket by junior forward Taren Sullivan, giving Findlay an 81-79 lead with 35 seconds to play. Sullivan would then split a pair of free throws down the stretch to give the Oilers a hard-fought road win.
The Oilers ended up shooting 50.8 percent (32-of-63) from the floor and canned 11-of-25 (44%) tries from three point range. They also came away with 11 steals and forced 18 turnovers in the win.
Sullivan led the way with a career-high 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting. He made 5-of-9 attempts from long range and also chipped in eight rebounds and three steals.
Kimbrough had 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and also recorded four assists, three rebounds and three steals in the win.
Senior forward Tyler Stern-Tucker had 11 points and four rebounds while Kahlig finished with ten points and three assists.
The Panthers, who shot 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from the floor, were led by Ronnie Williams' 22 points.
The Oilers will be back in action again on Saturday, Feb. 11 when they travel to Painesville, Ohio to battle Lake Erie College at 3 p.m.