Big Rapids, Mich. – On Saturday, Nov. 23, the University of Findlay men's basketball team, ranked #25 in the country, played in a top-25 contest for the first time in almost four years when they traveled to Big Rapids, Mich. to take on the #13 Ferris State Bulldogs. The Oilers trailed by just six at the break, but FSU pulled away in the second half as UF fell by a score of 100-76. Findlay suffers its' first loss of the season to fall to 4-1 overall while Ferris State improves to 7-1.
The two programs, which have met now five times in a top-25 affair, battled for 20 minutes in what looked like another classic game between the two Midwest Region rivals.
Ferris State jumped ahead early, leading 14-4 through five minutes of action, but Findlay clawed back over the next five minutes to tie the game at 22-22.
Tied at 38-38 with just under three minutes to play, the Bulldogs used an 8-2 run to take a six-point advantage into halftime.
The final 20 minutes belonged to the home team which was clearly comfortable shooting in its' home gym. Findlay got cold, making just 14-of-39 (36%) including only 4-of-16 (25%) from three which was bad timing because the Bulldogs got red hot, making 19-of-32 (60%) from the floor and 8-of-14 (57%) from three in the second half. That shooting performance propelled FSU to an 18-point advantage in the frame as the home team went on to win by 24, the largest margin of victory by either team in the series since a 90-62 win by Findlay back in 2009.
Ferris had 12 more rebounds that Findlay and shot the lights out, pouring in 37-of-62 (60%) from the floor while making 13 three-pointers.
Freshman Ian Ioppolo paced the Oilers' offense, scoring 17 points with a team-high three triples. Junior Mason Brandt scored 15, grabbed four rebounds, and had two steals while sophomore Anthony Johnson scored 11 and freshman Steele Meister scored ten. Johnson had three assists in the game.
Findlay will be back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 26 when they play host to Davenport University. That contest will tip off at 7 pm in Croy.
