North Canton, Ohio – The University of Findlay men's basketball team saw it's season come to an end in the semifinal of the 2026 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Championship Tournament on Friday, March 6, falling 87-77 to the host, No. 14 Walsh University. That defeat ends the Oilers' campaign with an 18-12 record while Walsh, which won the conference regular season title, moves on to Saturday's championship game.
After falling behind by as many as 12 points in the opening period, the Oilers fought back and built momentum late in the half. A Mason Brandt layup in the closing seconds cut the deficit to just three points, sending Findlay to the locker room trailing 43-40.
However, Walsh seized control immediately coming out of the break. The Cavaliers, which have now beaten the Oilers in nine of 11 games, sparked a massive 10-0 scoring run over the first two minutes of the second half. Back-to-back three-pointers from Kobe Mitchell and Matthew Biddell fueled the early surge, building a 53-40 advantage that ultimately forced the Oilers to play catch-up for the rest of the evening.
Despite the early second-half deficit, Findlay refused to go quietly and relentlessly chipped away at the Walsh lead. Midway through the final period, Javonte Hill came up with a steal and took it all the way for a fastbreak layup, capping a stretch that trimmed the Walsh advantage down to just five points at 69-64.
A few minutes later, Anthony Johnson converted another transition layup following a steal to make it a 77-72 game with 5:42 remaining. Unfortunately, Walsh had an immediate answer, responding with an 8-0 run punctuated by two more deep three-pointers from Mitchell to push the lead back to 13 points and firmly put the game out of reach.
The biggest difference in the game came from behind the arc where Walsh was scorching hot. The Cavaliers shot 50.9 percent from the floor overall and an impressive 44.8 percent from deep, draining 13 three-pointers on the night. Meanwhile, Findlay struggled to find their range outside, shooting 45.9 percent overall but just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) from three-point territory.
The Oilers did find success inside, outscoring Walsh in the paint 36-32. Findlay's defensive pressure was also strong, forcing 15 Cavalier turnovers and converting them into 22 points off turnovers, compared to Walsh's 19.
In his final collegiate game, Jagger Landers paced the Findlay offense, scoring a team-high 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting while pulling down a team-tying six rebounds. With his performance, Landers finishes his career with exactly 1,025 points, which ties him with Dorian Bass (2004-07) for 49th on the program's all-time scoring list.
Mekhi Elmore also had a strong showing, contributing 16 points and a pair of steals, while Alex Kendall chipped in with 14 points on a highly efficient 5-of-6 shooting from the floor before fouling out. Javonte Hill provided a crucial spark off the bench with 12 points, connecting on two of his three attempts from deep.
For Walsh, Kobe Mitchell was the difference-maker, pouring in a game-high 25 points by knocking down 7 of his 11 three-point attempts. Matthew Biddell and Kaleb Schaffer each added 16 points to send the Cavaliers to the championship game.
Tonight's defeat extends a tough stretch in tournament history for Findlay, as the Oilers have now not made an appearance in a G-MAC Tournament Final since 2019, proving the difficulty that is single-elimination tournament basketball.
