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Local Sports

Friday, November 20, 2009

Coon is clutch for Oilers
By BRIAN LESTER

STAFF WRITER

Nick Coon is a most unlikely hero for the University of Findlay men’s basketball team, having scored just more than 100 career points as a role player for the Oilers.

But Coon is not your typical player off the bench. He is a redshirt senior with the ability to play multiple positions and is blessed with a high basketball IQ.

Coon delivered in a starting role Thursday night against Malone, scoring 11 points, grabbing 2 rebounds and dishing out 2 assists as the No. 4 Oilers knocked off the Pioneers, 81-70, at Croy Gymnasium.

Coon started in place of freshman forward Jack Smith, who has battled an illness the past couple of days, and handled the situation effectively.

“It’s something guys around here have done for years,” Coon said. “A play needs to be made, and someone makes it. It just happened to be my night. I filled my role.”

Coon was a star at Mount Vernon High School, earning Ohio Capital Conference Central Division Player of the Year honors.

And while he came into Thursday’s game with just 102 career points, veteran UF head coach Ron Niekamp didn’t hesitate to put Coon in the lineup.

“Playing different positions isn’t easy, but Nick handled it very well,” Niekamp said. “He played an excellent game and was able to keep us in the game. He has an understanding of what to do on the floor, especially on the offensive end.”

Coon stepped up big late in the first half. The Oilers trailed 31-28 after a 3-pointer by Eric Coblentz but the lead was short-lived.

Coon drove into the lane for a layup and cut the advantage to one before nailing two free throws to put UF in front 32-31.

Moments later, freshman guard Aaron Robinson, despite falling to the floor and landing on his hip, got up and came through with a steal near mid-court.

He was able to rifle a pass to Coon for a layup and a 34-31 lead.

The Oilers (2-0) went into halftime with a 38-33 advantage.

“You have to go all out when you are playing basketball,” Robinson said. “I always try to bring intensity and energy off the bench and that is the way I want to play every night.”

The Oilers fed off that energy in the second half as they rolled to their 75th consecutive regular-season win at home. The defending NCAA Division II champions picked up their 38th consecutive victory as well.

Ahead 45-38, the Oilers went inside for layups to fuel a 19-5 run that culminated when Michael Agunga split two free throws for a 64-43 advantage with 10 minutes to play.

UF limited the Pioneers (1-2) to four field goals during the stretch and took away the second-chance opportunities Malone thrived on in the first half .

“We played with a lot of enthusiasm and energy on both ends of the floor, stayed within our offense longer and got better shots,” Niekamp said. “We also applied pressure without gambling.

“I thought it was 10 to 12-minute slice of basketball that hopefully we can freeze and see what we can do to establish it for a longer period of time.”

Junior guard Nathan Hyde paced the Oilers with 18 points and senior point guard Marcus Parker added 14 points. Sophomore forward Greg Avery scored 11.

The Oilers shot much better than they did Tuesday, connecting on 46.4 percent (25 of 56) of their shots, but they were out-rebounded 37-25.

Malone shot 50 percent (27 of 54) from the field. Eric Coblentz and Mark Young each scored 15 points.

The problem for the Pioneers was that they turned the ball over 23 times.

Robinson helped fuel the defensive effort as he tallied 6 steals to go along with his 9 points and 4 rebounds.



malone (70)

Young 6-7 2-2 15, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Duerr 2-6 0-0 5, Coblentz 5-13 2-2 15, Higgins 4-8 0-0 11, Porbeni 3-5 0-0 6, Watts 2-4 3-4 7, Lindesmith 2-8 0-0 5, Aleksic 3-3 0-0 6. TOTALS: 27-54 7-8 70.

findlay (81)

Avery 3-7 4-4 11, Marsden 3-6 2-3 8, Coon 3-3 5-5 11, Hyde 6-14 3-3 18, Parker 3-9 6-8 14, Smith 1-4 0-0 2, Robinson 4-7 0-0 9, Brown 3-6 0-0 7, Wehri 0-0 0-0 0, Agunga 0-0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 26-56 21-25 81.

HALFTIME: Findlay, 38-33

3-Point GOALS: Malone 8-19 (Higgins 3-5, Coblentz 3-10, Young 1-1, Duerr 1-3, Lindesmith 1-5 Watts 0-1). Findlay 8-19 (Hyde 3-6, Parker 2-5, Robinson 1-2, Brown 1-2, Avery 1-3, Marsden 0-1).

rebounds: Malone 37 (Higgins & Aleksic 6); Findlay 25 (Marsden & Smith 5).

ASSISTS: Malone 18 (Duerr 6); Findlay 14 (Marsden 4).

STEALS: Malone 5 (Higgins 2); Findlay 16 (Robinson 6, Parker 3).

BLOCKS: Malone 0, Findlay 2.

turnovers: Malone 23, Findlay 11.

TOTAL FOULS: Malone 20, Findlay 13.

FOULED OUT: None.

Lester, 419-422-5151

Send an e-mail to Brian Lester


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