Box score
FINDLAY, Ohio- Top-ranked Findlay escaped with a 77-66 win over Indianapolis in men's basketball action Tuesday night at Croy Gymnasium. The Hounds were persistent in continuing to battle back, but the host Oilers extended their regular season home-court winning streak to 59.
The Greyhounds scored the first four points of the game, but Findlay would score 11 straight and led by as many as 15. The Oilers benefitted from nine Indianapolis first-half turnovers to take a 36-23 advantage into halftime.
The Hounds held Josh Bostic, the Preseason Division II Player of the Year, to just six points and two rebounds in the opening stanza.
UIndy went to work on the deficit right off the bat to start the second half.
Larry Woods and
Tyke Cockerham each made layups and
Keith Radcliff followed with a triple to shave the lead to just six less than two minutes in. The Oilers used a pair of dunks to help quell the momentum but the Greyhounds continued to pressure as the pace quickened in the second half.
The lead hovered around six points over the next six minutes until a conventional three-point play by UF's Michael Agunga helped the Oilers regain a double-digit margin at 53-42 with 12 minutes to play. Later, a 9-0 Findlay run gave the nation's top-ranked squad a 15-point lead and forced the Hounds to call a timeout to regroup.
The Greyhounds whittled the lead back to single digits on a fastbreak lay-in by Cockerham. After a UF miss, Woods fired down a dunk to quiet the raucous Oiler crowd and get the deficit back down to six with four-and-a-half minutes left. Radcliff put it at four with a jumper and the nation's number one team had a full-fledged fight on its hands.
With a minute to play and facing a 72-64 deficit, the Hounds missed a long three-pointer and the Oilers were able to escape the resilient Hounds and hang on for the 77-66 win.
Radcliff led all scorers with 20 points while Woods added 14.
Tristan Rogers had a solid all-around game, leading the Greyhounds with nine rebounds and five assists while chipping-in five points.
The Greyhounds will return home to face another GLIAC opponent, Hillsdale, Saturday night at Nicoson Hall. Tip time is slated for 7:30 p.m.