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University of Findlay

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Santiago Layup Truman 11/13/26
Abby Woodbury | Cedarville Athletics
84
Truman St. TSU 0-2,0-0 GLVC
92
Winner Findlay UF 1-0,0-0 G-MAC
Truman St. TSU
0-2,0-0 GLVC
84
Final
92
Findlay UF
1-0,0-0 G-MAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Truman St. TSU 34 50 84
Findlay UF 35 57 92

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Men's Basketball Opens Season with 92-84 Win Over Truman State

Cedarville, Ohio- The University of Findlay men's basketball team opened its season with a 92-84 win over Truman State on Friday, Nov. 13, at Callan Athletic Center on the campus of Cedarville University, putting together a strong second-half performance to secure the victory. Findlay opens the campaign with a 1-0 record following the victory, while Truman State drops to 0-1.

The game opened with a tightly contested first half that featured ten lead changes. Junior Javonte Hill put the Oilers on the board with a 3-pointer, and after falling behind 15-13, Findlay responded with a 7-0 run. That run included a layup by senior Anthony Johnson to tie the game, followed by a 3-pointer from freshman Rognny Santiago. After blocking a shot on the defensive end, Santiago added two free throws at the 11-minute mark to put Findlay ahead 20-15.

After Truman State briefly took a 25-20 lead, Findlay erased the deficit in just over a minute with another 7-0 surge, fueled by a junior Alex Kendall 3-pointer, a fast-break dunk from junior Ian Ioppolo off a senior Jake Bishop steal, and a Bishop tip-in for a 27-25 advantage at the seven-minute mark. Truman State pushed back ahead 34-29 late in the period, but Findlay held the Bulldogs scoreless over the final 3:30 and closed on a 6-0 run, getting two free throws apiece from Anthony Johnson and Hill before Hill punctuated the half with a fast-break dunk to give the Oilers a 35-34 halftime edge.

Findlay shot a blistering 65.4% from the field after halftime to seize control of the game. When Truman State jumped ahead 42-37 early in the period, Findlay immediately countered with an 8-0 run. Ioppolo took over in the paint with three straight layups, including a driving finish at 16:13 that gave the Oilers the lead for good, before Kendall capped the burst with a layup at the 15-minute mark to make it 45-42.

Midway through the half, Santiago knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to give Findlay its first double-digit cushion at 60-50, followed by triples from freshman Brycen Johnson and Hill and two Kendall free throws that stretched the lead to a game-high 13 points at 70-57. Anthony Johnson delivered a timely 3-pointer at the four-minute mark and a driving layup shortly after to keep Truman State at bay, and after a late Bulldogs push trimmed the margin to six, Kendall and Hill combined to hit four free throws in the final 23 seconds to seal the 92-84 victory. 

As a team, the Oilers were 30-of-62 (48.4%) from the floor including 9-of-23 (39.1%) from deep. 

Findlay was led by Alex Kendall, who finished with a game-high 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 at the free-throw line. He also pulled down a team-high six rebounds and recorded four blocks.

Ian Ioppolo and Javonte Hill also turned in strong performances, scoring 17 and 16 points, respectively. Hill went 8-of-11 from the free-throw line and tied Kendall for the team lead with six rebounds, while Ioppolo added five boards.

Rognny Santiago made an immediate impact in his debut, scoring 13 points while knocking down three of his five attempts from beyond the arc. Anthony Johnson rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points and led the Oilers with five assists.

Findlay will be back in action Saturday, Nov. 14 as they take on Quincy at 1pm inside Callan Athletic Center in Cedarville, Ohio.
 
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