Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay men's basketball team kicked off their season as they have five times since 2017, hosting the Division I University of Toledo Rockets, the three-time defending Mid American Conference (MAC) Champions, in an exhibition game in Croy Gymnasium. The latest edition of the game took place on Sunday, Oct. 29 and ended in favor of the Rockets who picked up the 95-70 win. It's the fourth consecutive win in the series for Toledo, whose only loss came in the game's debut back in 2017.

Sunday's game raised more than $2,700 which will all be donated towards the Red Cross in support of the victims of the wildfires that ravaged the island of Maui in Hawaii.

Despite a dunk by Toledo's Tyler Cochran just two seconds into the game, the Oilers held steady in the opening minutes of the contest. After a three-point miss by freshman Anthony Johnson to start the game, Findlay hit on six consecutive shots, including triples by senior Nathan Bruns and sophomore Jagger Landers, to take a 14-13 lead.

That would be the Oilers last lead of the game as Toledo, which made 24-of-33 (72.7%) of their field goals in the first half, powered their way to a 58-34 lead at the break. Findlay never cut the deficit to less than 20 points the remainder of the game.
Despite not closing the gap in the second half, Findlay was only outscored by one, 37-36, in the final frame.

As a team, Findlay hit on 28-of-63 (44.4%) shots from the floor including 10-of-21 from beyond the arc. Toledo cooled off in the second half but still finished the game 39-of-64 (60.9%) including just 6-of-16 (37.5%) from three-point range.

Much of the Rockets' success came in close as they scored 56 points in the paint. Toledo also took advantage of Findlay's 21 turnovers, scoring 25 points off of those miscues, many of which contributed to the Rockets' 22 fast break points.
Nathan Bruns and Jagger Landers tied for the team lead with 12 points scored while sophomore Khalil Luster chipped in 11. Bruns also added five rebounds while Landers had four.

Anthony Johnson scored seven points in his Oilers debut while senior guard Cameron Shaw had six. Sophomore Mason Brandt scored four points and led the team with seven rebounds.

For Toledo, Ra'Heim Moss was the team's leader with 19 points while Dante Maddox Jr. had 14 and Sam Lewis scored 13. Tyler Cochran picked up a double-double, scoring 16 points and collecting a game-high ten rebounds.

Findlay will turn its' attention to Truman State for the season-opener which will be played on Friday, Nov. 10 in Kirksville, Missouri as part of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) / Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Crossover.

Charity Exhibition vs Toledo History
2023 – Toledo - 95-70
2022 – Toledo – 100-88
2021 – Toledo – 83-78
2019 – Toledo - 75-68
2017 – Findlay – 89-86