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Oilers Edge Eagles
Men in Overtime, 87-82 |
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It’s small college basketball that Ashland and Findlay played on Thursday night (Jan. 16) at AU’s Kates Gymnasium. But don’t try to tell that to the 1,800 who watched it. They will confirm that it was a big game filled with big plays. Junior forward Brad Rethman scored 20 points, six in overtime, as Findlay (13-2, 6-1 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) nipped Ashland (13-4, 5-3), 87-82 in overtime. The game pitted the top two teams in the GLIAC South Division, Findlay entering the contest in first place with a one-game lead over the Eagles. Rethman put the Oilers ahead to stay 46 seconds into overtime on a jumper in the key. That gave Findlay a 75-73 lead. With 3:32 left in the extra session, Rethman buried a three-point field goal to extend the Oiler lead to 78-73. Ashland cut that margin down to one point, 80-79 on a jumper by senior guard Angelo Edwards with 1:31 left, but a three-point field goal by Findlay senior guard Charles Warren put the visitors back in front, 83-79 with 1:06 to play. Ashland forced the extra session when Edwards hit a three-pointer from the right corner with six seconds to play in regulation. The Eagles stole the inbounds pass and got off the last shot in regulation, a three-point attempt by senior guard Isaac Kincaid as the horn sounded. Edwards had 24 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Ashland sophomore center Mike Campbell registered 15 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots. Campbell is averaging 9.9 rpg. Findlay got 19 points and 12 rebounds from freshman forward Frank Phillips. Warren finished with 14 points and six assists. Numbers alone don’t do this game justice. In the previous six AU-UF games before Thursday’s clash, the teams were tied 3-3. Like most of the previous six matchups, this one was intense from the start. AU had the upper hand early, leading, 11-4 with 14:56 left in the first half. But Findlay came at the Eagles in waves and bounced back to take a 39-35 halftime lead. The Oilers lost plenty to graduation from last year’s team, but it would appear that they’ve filled every hole. The UF bench outscored the Eagles’ second line, 17-8. Like the first half, the second half was nearly even. The visitors had a 54-47 lead with 12:20 left in regulation, but AU went on an 8-0 spurt over the next 1:51 and led, 55-54 with 10:14 to go. The teams were tied at 57 with 9:43 remaining in regulation. Neither team had more than a three-point lead after that. The game featured eight ties and eight lead changes. Ashland outrebounded the visitors, 48-36 and shot 44 percent (33-75) from the floor. Findlay shot 50 percent (34-68), 41.2 percent (7-17) from three-point range. Neither team was exceptional at the free throw line. Ashland hit 11 of 19 tries at the line (57.9 percent) and Findlay was 12-21 (57.1 percent). This isn’t the last time these two teams will see each other. The rematch is slated for Saturday, Feb. 8, at Findlay. |