Findlay, Ohio – The University of Findlay men's basketball team put together one of its' best performances of the year on Thursday, Feb. 1 in Croy Gymnasium, taking down the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans by a final of 89-70. That victory gives the Oilers an 8-10 record on the season with a 5-5 mark in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) while the Trojans fall to 13-6 overall with an 8-3 record in the league.
Against the two teams that hold the top two spots in the conference, the Oilers have wins of 24 and 19 points against Cedarville and Trevecca Nazarene, respectively.
It is rare in a basketball game to earn a 19-point victory and still come away with the phrase, "it wasn't as close as the score indicates", but that's exactly what happened on Thursday night in front of an excitable Croy crowd.
The Oilers, which were beaten on the road by the Trojans earlier in the year, had no issue with Trevecca on this occasion, jumping out to a 38-10 lead 13 minutes into the game. Over that stretch, the Oilers hit 9-of-14 three-point attempts and forced TNU into seven turnovers. An ideal start, but it kept getting better.
After heading into the break with a 55-29 advantage, the Oilers kept their foot on the gas, outscoring the Trojans 21-12 over the first nine minutes of the second half to take a game-high 35-point lead at 76-41. Findlay would coast down the stretch to earn a comfortable 19-point victory over the league's current second-place team.
On the evening, the Oilers made 33-of-62 from the floor including 17-of-36 from three-point range. Those 17 made triples tie the season-high which also came against Trevecca Nazarene back in November. It is the tenth time this season the Oilers have made double-digit threes in a game. Ball movement was also critical as Findlay tied a season-high with 22 assists on the night.
Findlay was led in scoring by senior Cameron Shaw who connected on a career-high five triples on his way to 20 points on the night.
Sophomore Jagger Landers scored 14 on the strength of 4-of-5 from deep while senior Joey Edmonds and senior Nathan Bruns each scored 11. Freshman Anthony Johnson scored ten, as well, giving the Oilers five players in double-figures.
Bruns grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and also had four assists while Johnson had five rebounds and five assists. Edmonds led the team with six assists while sophomore Khalil Luster had a career-high four steals.
Findlay is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 3 for a date with the Walsh Cavaliers. That game will tip at 3:00 pm.
