Findlay, Ohio – For the first time this season, the University of Findlay men's basketball team, ranked no. 5 in the country, dropped a home game. That defeat, a 75-73 loss against Thomas More University, snaps a 12-game win streak by the Oilers. Findlay is now 16-2 on the year with a 9-1 mark in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) while the Saints improve to 11-7 (6-5 G-MAC).
The Oilers struggled to make shots early in the game on Thursday night, hitting just three of their first nine shots over the opening seven minutes. On the other side, Thomas More was firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a 19-9 lead on the strength of six made triples.
That advantage reached a game-high 12 points when the Saints pulled ahead 23-11.
At that point, Findlay dug deep and went on a 12-0 run, tying the game up at 23. Over that run, the Oilers hit a trio of triples and appeared to hit their stride. Thomas More would answer and ultimately take a 33-28 advantage into the half, its' lowest scoring half since scoring 24 in the opening 20 minutes at Thomas More two weeks ago.
Fast forward to three minutes left in the game when, led by Max Roth who would score 15 second-half points, the Oilers pulled even at 69, bringing Croy Gymnasium to its' feet. Findlay got a stop and an opportunity to take its' first lead of the game, but a pair of shots under the basket would not fall and Thomas More, as they had done all night, had the answer, making a bucket of their own to take back control.
Free-throws down the stretch put the Saints ahead 75-71 before a late jumper by Roth pulled UF to within two. A missed free-throw with 1.2 seconds left gave the Oilers a shot with a three-quarter court heave, but the shot fell harmlessly to the floor, giving Findlay its' first G-MAC loss of the season.
In the game, Findlay shot 27-of-64 (42%) and made just 6-of-20 (30%) from three-point range while TMU hit 28-of-59 (48%) and made 12-of-29 (41%) from three.
Junior Roth was the leading scorer, pouring in a season-high 18 points. He also had three rebounds and led the team with a pair of steals. Junior Mehki Elmore scored 11 points and had three assists.
Junior Jaggers Landers had nine points and five boards, sophomore Will Aljancic had eight points and three boards, and freshman Ian Ioppolo had eight points and five boards.
The Oilers are now set for a matchup of the top two teams in the league, traveling to take on the #24 Hillsdale College Chargers on Saturday, Jan. 25. It will be the first time Findlay plays in a top-25 matchup since February 6, 2021 when the Oilers were ranked #6 and the Chargers were ranked #12. Findlay lost that game 82-71 in Hillsdale, Michigan.
