Hillsdale, Mich. - The University of Findlay men's basketball team went on the road to take on the Hillsdale College Chargers for the second time in five days on Thursday, Feb. 29. The Oilers got the better of the Chargers last Saturday, but today the story was different as Findlay came away with an 82-65 loss. With that defeat, the Orange and Black now have a record of 12-15 (9-10 G-MAC) while Hillsdale improves to 18-9 (13-7 G-MAC). Both teams have just one Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) game remaining in the regular season.

Early in Thursday's contest, the Oilers, which had won two consecutive games, looked like the momentum was still on their side. Findlay defended well early, forcing the Chargers into two turnovers and a 3-for-9 start from the field in the first six minutes. At that point, the Oilers held a 13-6 lead. It would turn out to be their largest lead of the game.

The Chargers used a quick 11-2 run to take their first lead of the game. Hillsdale's final lead change came with 8:55 to play in the first half when the home team pulled ahead 19-18. That advantage eventually ballooned into a 34-26 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Hillsdale led by as many as 26 points at 65-39 with nine minutes to play in the game. Although a barrage of threes helped the Oilers cut that lead back to 14 at 74-60, it was not nearly enough as the Chargers secured the victory.

Findlay shot 22-of-56 (39%) from the floor including 5-of-22 (23%) from deep while Hillsdale made 32-of-62 (52%) and 8-of-20 (40%) from three. 

Sophomore Max Roth scored a season-high 20 points in the contest while freshman Will Aljancic poured in 18. Aljancic also led the way with seven rebounds.

Coming into Thursday night, Findlay was ninth in the conference's Points Rating System (PRS), which is used to determine the postseason bracket. Tiffin University was in eighth and picked up a home victory against Malone University.

The Oilers will conclude the regular season on Saturday, March 2 with a trip to Ashland University. That contest will tip at 3 pm.