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| #5 Men's Basketball Set To Battle Buckeyes |
 Junior Morgan Lewis The University of Findlay men’s basketball team, ranked fifth in the initial National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll, will play The Ohio State University in their final exhibition contest of the season on Tuesday, November 6. The contest is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. inside Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Sights and Sounds All Oilers men’s basketball games can be heard on 1330 AM “WFIN” and 88.3 FM “WLFC”. The games on WFIN will be broadcasted by play-by-play announcer Jim Heller and color analyst Jason Granger. In addition to listening on the radio, all Oilers men’s basketball games can be listened to live via the internet through WFIN. UF athletics will also offer live stats for all home games. A link to this process can be retrieved by clicking on the live stats window located on the left side of the Oilers athletic website. In addition, all Oilers home games can be seen live over the internet through B2 Networks. For more information about B2 Networks, visit: The Series The Oilers and Buckeyes have met in each of the last two years for an exhibition game in Columbus, Ohio. Last season, Ohio State defeated Findlay 80-57 behind Ron Lewis’ 17 points. Frank Phillips led the Oilers with 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. Phillips connected on 7-of-16 field goal attempts in his 30 minutes of action. Brent Schnipke added 13 points to go along with eight rebounds while Dorian Bass and Morgan Lewis chipped in ten points apiece. During the 2005 season, the Buckeyes defeated Findlay 83-53 behind a monster performance by Terrance Dials, who scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor. Dustin Pfeifer and Schnipke led the Oilers with 13 points apiece. The University of Findlay The Oilers were defeated in their first exhibition game of the season last Thursday 81-78 by the University of Dayton at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. Findlay, who began the game down 13-0, climbed back in the second half, eventually taking a lead by as many as seven points. With under a minute left and holding a one point lead at 78-77, the Oilers were called for a three second violation giving the Flyers a chance to win the game. Dayton resumed the possession with just over 26 seconds to play and missed a shot that junior forward Morgan Lewis grabbed, but a late foul was called on the Oilers, giving the Flyers an opportunity to take the lead from the free throw line. After the play was sorted out, an animated coach Niekamp, frustrated by the foul call, picked up a technical which eventually led to the Flyers going up 81-78 with 12.4 seconds on the clock. The Oilers would then fail to get up a good shot attempt as the buzzer sounded and the Flyers escaped with the win. As a team, Findlay drained 16-of-32 three’s in the contest and shot 46.6 percent from the floor. Junior forward Josh Bostic led the team with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He drained 5-of-10 three pointers and added three rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Tyler Evans and Lewis also had great games, each clicking for 16 points apiece while sophomore guard Marcus Parker added 15 points and seven assists. For Findlay's 2006-07 season statistics, please click on the following link: For Findlay’s 2007-08 men’s roster, please click on the following link: Scouting The Opponent The Ohio State University is coming off of a season in which they reached the NCAA Division I National Championship game. Last Wednesday, the Buckeyes thumped Ashland University 88-59 behind 15 points each from Kosta Koufos and Othella Hunter. For Ohio State's 2006-07 season statistics, please click on the following link: For Ohio State’s 2007-08 men’s roster, please click on the following link: Opponents Head Coach The Buckeyes are led by Thad Matta, who is currently in his fourth season with Ohio State. Last season, Matta guided the Buckeyes to a school record 35 wins against only four losses. He has also led the team to back-to-back Big 10 titles and has a record of 81-22 during his tenure with Ohio State. Matta has also served as the head coach at Xavier University and Butler University. 2007-08 GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll The Oilers were picked to win the South Division in the 2007-08 GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Oilers received all 30 first place votes for a total of 180 points in the poll. They were followed by Wayne State University (115), Ashland University (108), Mercyhurst College (100), Hillsdale College (73) and Gannon University (53) in the South Division. In the North Division, Grand Valley State University was picked to win after receiving 29 first place votes and 209 total points. The Lakers have won the last two conference titles and made a trip to the Elite Eight last season. Grand Valley State was followed by Michigan Technological University (156), Northern Michigan University (130), Ferris State University (114), Saginaw Valley State University, 107), Lake Superior State University (61) and Northwood University (53) in the North Division. Conference Championships The Oilers captured their sixth straight GLIAC South Division title with a 72-56 win over Wayne State on February 1, 2007. The championship was their seventh during their ten year affiliation with the conference. The Oilers have also won three conference tournaments, capturing titles in 2007, 2005 and 2004. GLIAC Tournament Success The Oilers currently sport a 13-3 overall record in the GLIAC Tournament, winning titles in 2007, 2005 and 2004. Overall, Findlay has appeared in the championship game of the event four times. National Elite The Oilers have appeared in six consecutive NCAA Division II National Tournaments, reaching the Elite Eight during the 2004-05 campaign. Overall, the Oilers have a 7-6 record in the Tournament. Among The Best The Oilers have the second best winning percentage in NCAA Division II competition during the 2000’s. During this decade, the Oilers have won 174 games and lost only 41 for a percentage of .809. Metro State has the highest winning percentage at .838 (223-43). A Tough Place To Play The Oilers are 440-106 (.806) in Croy Gymnasium since they starting playing home games there during the 1969-70 season. In the past five years, the Oilers are 83-4 at home for a winning percentage of .954. The record includes a school record 59 game home winning streak, which was ended with a 60-56 loss to Northern Kentucky University on March 11, 2007 in the second round of the NCAA Division II National Tournament. Chasing The 1,000 Point Club Junior forward Josh Bostic has a shot at reaching the 1,000 point plateau during the 2007-08 season. If he does so, Bostic will become the 37th player to achieve the feat in the history of Findlay basketball. Currently, Bostic has scored 580 career points in only two seasons with the Oilers. Preseason All-American Junior forward Josh Bostic was listed as a preseason honorable mention all-Amiercan according to the NCAA Division II Bulletin. Bostic was named second team all-GLIAC last year after averaging 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Oilers. Preseason All-GLIAC Team Junior forward Josh Bostic and sophomore guard Marcus Parker were selected to the 2007-08 Preseason All-GLIAC Team as released on October 24. The voting for the preseason teams was conducted by each head coach in the GLIAC. Bostic is coming off of his sophomore season in which he averaged 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He was named second team all-GLIAC, voted as a member of the GLIAC all-defensive team and also earned a spot on the GLIAC all-tournament team. Parker is coming off of his freshman season in which he averaged 9.0 points, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He was named the GLIAC Freshman of the Year and was also selected as a Freshman All-American by the NCAA Division II Bulletin. 2006-07 GLIAC Honors Head coach Ron Niekamp and freshman guard Marcus Parker highlighted the GLIAC awards ceremony, taking home coach of the year and freshman of the year honors for the 2006-07 season. Niekamp took home his third consecutive coach of the year award and fourth of his career by leading the Oilers to the first undefeated conference season in the GLIAC since the league adopted divisional play during the 1995-96 campaign. Parker was tabbed the GLIAC freshman of the year with his stellar play on both sides of the ball. Replacing An All-American Last season, forward Frank Phillips was named a first team all-American according to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). This season, junior forward Morgan Lewis will have the opportunity to replace Phillips, who was also a first team all-Great Lakes Region and first team all-GLIAC selection as a senior. Exhibition Slate The Oilers will play the University of Dayton on November 1 and The Ohio State University on November 6 before they open up their season. The Oilers and Flyers will be meeting in the preseason for the second time while Findlay and Ohio State will be playing for the third consecutive season. A Tough Start The Oilers will open their season at the Northern Kentucky University Tip-Off Classic in Highland Heights, Kentucky. Findlay will begin the event with a game against Christian Brothers University, who shows up in many of the preseason NCAA Division national rankings. From there, they will face Northern Kentucky, who ended the Oilers season last year in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Preseason NCAA Division II Bulletin Poll The Oilers were tabbed as the seventh best team in the nation according to the NCAA Division II Bulletin Preseason Poll, which was released on October 12. The year before, they were ranked sixth to begin the season. Newcomers The Oilers have five new faces on the team this year as each of them has the opportunity to earn playing time during their inaugural campaign. Nathan Hyde, Jason Wehri, Tyler Sparks, Antoine Whillhite and Michael Agunga make up the Oilers freshmen class. Hyde, from Liberty Benton High School, was tabbed the Division III player of the year in Ohio as a senior. He was the MVP of the Ohio North/South all-star game and was selected as the player of the year in the Blanchard Valley Conference as both a junior and senior. Wehri, from Ottoville High School, was a three-time all-Putnam County League performer. He also captured first team all-District 8 honors twice and was a honorable mention all-Ohio selection as a senior. Sparks, from Olmsted Falls High School, was named the player of the year in the Northeast Lakes District as a junior and senior. A two-time, first team all-Ohio selection, Sparks was a McDonald’s all-American nominee and a two-time, first team all-Southwest Conference selection. Willhite, from Cincinnati Lockland High School, was named honorable mention all-Ohio as a senior. He was also a first team all-district selection and a two-time, first team all-Miami Valley Conference performer. Agunga, from Grove City High School, was a first team all-Ohio Capital Conference selection as a senior. NABC/Division II Pre-Season Coaches Poll (Oct. 31, 2007) 1. Winona State (8) - 35-1 *All records are from the 2006-07 season. Helpful Links For more information on the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, please click on the following link: For more information on NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball, please click on the following links: |
