Print | Comments | Tell a Friend | Larger Text | Smaller Text | Bookmark and Share

Local Sports

Friday, December 11, 2009

College Basketball: Spark back in Oilers
Cooper Service
By BRIAN LESTER

STAFF WRITER

Tyler Sparks still wears a knee brace, a reminder of the devastating knee injury he suffered last March during the opening round of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

But when the University of Findlay junior forward drove hard to the basket for a layup early in the first half and converted against Ferris State, it was evident to the Oilers' partisan that Sparks was ready to play like his old self.

His first game back turned out to be a successful one. Sparks scored 9 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and dished out 3 assists and the Oilers snapped their two-game losing streak with a 90-62 win over the Bulldogs Thursday night at Croy Gymnasium.

The fans showered Sparks with cheers when he entered the game with a little over 15 minutes to play in the opening half and he had no problem describing how it felt to play after nine months of traveling down a challenging road to recovery.

"It was an awesome feeling. I appreciate the crowd cheering for me," Sparks said. "I've been waiting nine months for this opportunity. It was awesome to play with the team again."

Sparks had to sit out the Oilers' entire postseason run to the NCAA Division II national championship, but he never took his foot off the accelerator against the Bulldogs.

He was 3-of-5 from the field and wasn't shy about battling for rebounds, providing a much-needed shot of energy to a young UF team that was coming off back-to-back losses in the regular season for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign.

"He is another experienced player we can add to the lineup, and he showed a lot of composure out there," UF head coach Ron Niekamp said. "He's waited so long to play, and it was obvious that he was ready to go."

Out of the national poll for the first time since December 2007 and facing an uphill climb in their quest to win another GLIAC South Division championship, the Oilers (4-3, 1-2 GLIAC) made it clear from the start that they were ready to compete.

Freshman guard Aaron Robinson, in just the second start of his career, drained a 3-pointer on a kickout from Michael Agunga and put the Oilers ahead 10-7, igniting a 19-4 run that broke the will of Bulldogs (3-4, 3-1) squad which was riding the high of their best league start since the 2005-06 season.

UF led 26-11 at the end of the run after a jumper by sophomore forward Jack Smith and went into halftime with a 38-27 advantage.

Robinson was a thorn in the side of FSU, and he was nearly perfect as he pumped in 13 points and pulled down 6 rebounds. Robinson was 3-of-3 from the floor, including a 2-of-2 effort from beyond the arc, and he was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.

"I'm feeling more comfortable in the lineup and I just wanted to come in and do what I could to help us stop our losing streak," Robinson said. "I took good shots and played hard on defense. I thought as a team we executed a lot better on both ends of the floor."

Indeed.

The Oilers came in shooting just 41.3 percent from the field but shot 54 percent (27-of-50) from the field and connecting on 28 of 33 attempts from the free-throw line.

Hyde led the charge, just as he has most of the year. The junior guard from Liberty-Benton scored 19, burying three treys as UF rolled to its 78th consecutive regular-season win at home.

Rob Marsden scored 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds while Marcus Parker clicked for 13 points. Smith added 10 points on a night when UF dished out 16 assists.

"We have struggled offensively at times, but I thought we had great balance tonight," Niekamp said. "We were able to attack the basket, hit shots from the outside and played hard on defense."

Junior post player Justin Keenan was his usual self, scoring 18 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. But while Dontae Molden hit for 12 points and Josh Young scored 10, the Bulldogs didn't have the balance that has led to their early success.

And UF took away any hope FSU had of making a comeback in the second half, benefitting from a 19-4 run and limiting the Bulldogs to two field goals in the first eight minutes of the second half.

"We talked at halftime about putting them away," Sparks said. "We stepped up on defense. We took a big step forward tonight and we have to build on it."



ferris state (62)

Keenan 7-11 4-9 18, Randel 0-6 0-0 0, Gay 0-4 4-4 4, Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Young 4-9 2-2 10, Molden 2-5 7-12 12, DeHart 1-3 0-0 3, Yeazel 3-8 0-0 6, Sutherlin 2-3 1-6 5, Boylan 0-0 2-2 2. TOTALS: 20-52 20-35--62.

findlay (90)

Smith 4-5 1-2 10, Marsden 5-10 3-4 13, Hyde 5-10 6-6 19, Parker 3-7 6-6 13, Robinson 3-3 5-6 13, Coon 0-0 0-0 0, Avery 0-5 2-2 2, Sparks 3-5 2-2 9, Schomaeker 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 3-4 1-3 7, Wehri 0- 2-2 2, Agunga 1-1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 27-50 28-33--90.

HALFTIME: Findlay, 38-27.

3-Point GOALS: Ferris State 2-15 (Molden 1-1, DeHart 1-3, Keenan 0-1, Young 0-1, Yeazel 0-1); Findlay 8-17 (Hyde 3-5, Robinson 2-2, Smith 1-2, Sparks 1-2, Parker 1-3, Avery 0-1).

rebounds: Ferris State 28 (Keenan & Young 5); Findlay 36 (Marsden 8, Avery 7, Robinson 6).

ASSISTS: Ferris State 3; Findlay 13 (Hyde & Sparks 3).

STEALS: Ferris State 7; Findlay 6 (Smith 2).

BLOCKS: Ferris State 2; Findlay 0.

turnovers: Ferris State 14, Findlay 16.

TOTAL FOULS: Ferris State 25, Findlay 22.

FOULED OUT: Agunga.


Subscribe to The Courier.
Comment on This Story
NOTE: Comment moderation has been enabled. If you see a comment that violates our Electronic User Agreement, please e-mail webmaster@thecourier.com. Thank you. If you are having problems viewing this Web page, please contact our Internet Department to help us diagnose and correct the problem. We may contact you for more information. Thanks in advance.
Your e-mail address will not be displayed on this website or shared with anyone. It is used by our online editor for contacting purposes.
Comments are moderated by The Courier according to its Electronic User Agreement within one business day. Comments that slander others or include language that violates the agreement will be rejected. All comments that impart opinion and information are welcome.

SBO

   SPORTS VIDEO

Talkin' football

Fostoria Review Times sports editor Scott Cottos joined Courier sports reporters Jamie Baker and Dave Hanneman to talk about four key games coming up in Week 2.
   SPECIAL SECTIONS
Summer Coupons
   AREA SPORTS

Local Sports
Duffel Bag

Duffel Bag

The Courier's Sports Duffel Bag carries local sports announcements like camps, clinics and coaching vacancies.

  LATEST COMMENTS Last 10 comments submitted by our readers...
j wrote in article "Many winners named as Hancock Fair opens":
Good but little expensive
“ The fair was interesting, but at $5 for the more popular rides on the expensive side, same with the food, many people commented... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 10:37:10 AM
JM wrote in article "McComb couple is serious about fair competition":
Very nice!
“ What a lovely article. Will have to check out their goods at the fair. ” Read More...
9/2/2010 10:21:42 AM
Ed wrote in article "Shooting video released":
Dirt bag...
“ A head shot would have put an end to the both dirt bag's chance of getting more money. NATE: could it be that you have some fir... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 9:53:26 AM
Yfkm wrote in article "Heroin outbreak":
Denial
“ To Tony and TL Every good citizen, parent and public official advocates the eradication of drugs from our communities; you are n... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 9:08:20 AM
Penny Musgrave wrote in article "Shooting video released":
Benton Ridge Shooting
“ Although I am all for catching the criminal, I don't condone what was done to this guy. They converged on him like gangbusters b... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 8:43:07 AM
Yfkm wrote in article "Parole denied in murder case":
Unqualified reassurance
“ To Tony - here is another example of your inability to see situations as they really are. It is obvious that you are so self in... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 8:42:45 AM
JP wrote in article "Pigskin Picks":
Wood Shed???
“ "Bubba," why would a Tiger take a Polar Bear to the wood shed? Wouldn't it be more likely that: Tigers knock Polar Bears into a... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 7:16:48 AM
poor victim!!!!! wrote in article "Shooting video released":
Nate
“ Nate your a moron and obviously do not know a thing about use of force. Also most taser cartridges carried have a 15 ft to 35 f... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 7:15:05 AM
Ryan wrote in article "Shooting video released":
Research
“ It doesn't matter if there was a weapon found or not. An officer's job is based upon perception and their objective reasonablen... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 7:05:15 AM
Derek wrote in article "Shooting video released":
Nate......what???
“ Nate, first of all, police officer's don't carry mase. If they did, the would carry maCe. Now, if you did some research, you'd... ” Read More...
9/2/2010 4:02:04 AM
Findlay Vasectomy :Cascades Urology Center
   LOCAL HEADLINES
  NATIONAL SPORTS