The University of Findlay men's basketball team, ranked first in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll, came back from a 21-6 first half deficit to defeat Hillsdale College 71-48 on Saturday, January 3 in Croy Gymnasium. The win gives the Oilers a 10-0 record on the season with a 6-0 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

Findlay down, 21-6 with 10:27 remaining in the first half, went on a 24-9 run to end the period which was capped by a three pointer from sophomore forward Tyler Sparks with only two tenths of second remaining on the clock. The triple tied the game at 30-30 as momentum swung back in the Oilers favor.

The second half began like the first half ended as Findlay dominated the Chargers and out-scored them 41-18 in the final frame to capture the win.

The surge was aided by a 56-16 run from the 10:27 mark of the first half until the 5:14 mark of the second half as senior forward Morgan Lewis connected on shots to begin and end the streak.

As a team, the Oilers shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the floor and out-rebounded the Chargers 39-26. Findlay also hit 9-of-28 (32.1%) of their three point tries and connected on 14-of-16 (87.5%) of their free throw attempts in the game.

The Chargers meanwhile hit 39.2 percent (20-of-51) of their shots and only connected on 2-of-19 (10.5%) of their three pointers.

Senior center Lee Roberts led the way with 15 points and six rebounds while Lewis chipped in 12 points and six boards.

Sparks contributed nine points and a career-high eight rebounds while sophomore guard Nathan Hyde and senior guard Aaron Laflin scored eight points apiece.

Senior forward Josh Bostic made only 3-of-12 shots for seven points but contributed a career-high six steals, five rebounds and four assists in the victory.

The Chargers were led by Tony Gugino, Travis Worst, Keith MacKenzie and Tyler Gerber who each scored nine points apiece.

The Oilers will be back in action again on Thursday, January 8 when they travel to Detroit, Michigan to take on Wayne State University at 7:30 p.m.