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Local Sports

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Oilers roll past Storm
Diamond Mine Direct
By BRIAN LESTER

STAFF WRITER

Greg Avery drove into the lane early in the second half and came up short on a layup. But it didn't turn out to be a missed opportunity for the University of Findlay men's basketball team.

Rob Marsden grabbed the ball after it bounced off the rim and threw it down for a thundering dunk that energized the announced crowd of 1,530 at Croy Gymnasium.

The play sparked a back-breaking 14-1 run that squashed any hope Lake Erie College had of mounting a comeback against the 10th-ranked Oilers, who rolled to an 84-56 win over the Storm Tuesday night.

It was the Oilers' 77th consecutive regular-season win at home.

Marsden's effort on that putback was the highlight of a night in which the redshirt freshman center, and a young UF team as a whole, took a huge step forward after losing 71-63 to Indianapolis on the road Saturday night.

Marsden scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and grabbed 5 rebounds while the Oilers shot 48.4 percent (31-of-64) from the field and highlighted their best offensive performance of the season with 23 assists.

"It took awhile for me to get used to playing with this team, but I have my feet under me now and I'm enjoying it," Marsden said. "I have a lot of responsibility this year. My team needs me to score, get rebounds and play hard on defense."

Marsden sat out last year during UF's NCAA Division II national championship run but was able to practice with the team. That learning experience and his chance to play a more prominent role as a first-year starter have paid off for the standout from England.

"It was a good step for Rob," UF head coach Ron Niekamp said. "He started the game with a lot of energy and got into the flow of the offense. He benefitted from good passes and was aggressive."

Marsden scored 6 of his points during the Oilers' 13-1 run to open the game. UF never let their lead dip below nine the rest of the half.

The Oilers played an up-tempo style of basketball and created easy scoring opportunities by forcing turnovers. They were more patient as well and made the extra pass for the open shot.

UF closed the half on an 11-1 run that was capped when Avery rifled a pass inside to Nathan Hyde for an easy layup. The Oilers led 47-28 at halftime.

Five players would end up scoring in double figures for the Oilers, who pride themselves on playing unselfish basketball. Hyde led the way with 16 points, burying four 3-pointers along the way, as the junior guard scored at least 16 points for the third consecutive game.

Freshman guard Aaron Robinson made the most of his time off the bench, dropping in 14 points, while senior point guard Marcus Parker clicked for 11 points and dished out 5 assists.

Freshman forward Jack Smith scored 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in a reserve role, one more sign that his young UF squad is beginning to mature and gel as a unit.

"Everyone is trying to find their roles and understand different situations," Niekamp said. "Making good decisions is not always easy for a young team, but I thought we gave a good effort, played hard and made the extra pass to find the open guy. Consequently our field goal percentage was much better."

The Storm tried to chip away at its 19-point halftime deficit, closing to within 13 (49-36) on a layup by junior forward Joe Roberts. But the Storm's leading scorer was held to 9 points, 8 below his average, and Lake Erie shot just 40.4 percent as a team.

The Storm, which was blitzed by a 14-1 run that put it in a 63-37 hole with 12 minutes remaining, turned the ball over 17 times in the loss. UF scored 23 points off of those miscues.

Freshman center Garrick Sims led the Storm with 10 points. Lake Erie stumbled to its fourth consecutive loss, the second straight against a nationally-ranked opponent.

Lake Erie, which will join the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference next year, lost 63-49 to No. 14 Tusculum on Saturday.

"It has been a trademark of ours to force turnovers," Niekamp said. "We got after it at the right time and made plays."

The Oilers will now have nine days off before opening GLIAC play next Thursday against Saginaw Valley State on the road.

Marsden is looking forward to the break after he and his teammates played four games in eight days to start the season.

"Winning this game is a nice way for us to into the break," Marsden said. "We know we can still improve and we know we have continue to get better so that we are ready for our first road trip."



lAKE ERIE (56)

Roberts 4-9 1-2 9, Worthey 3-5 1-2 7, Sims 5-9 0-1 10, Kidd 2-7 3-4 9, Bradshaw 3-11 2-4 9, Gilbert 0-1 0-0 0, Davis 1-1 3-4 5, McClain 0-1 0-0 0, McNabb 0-2 0-0 0, Grendel 2-2 0-0 5, Kerrigan 1-3 0-0 2, Baker 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21-52 10-17 56.

findlay (84)

Avery 3-10 0-0 6, Marsden 4-5 2-2 10, Coon 3-5 0-0 7, Hyde 6-13 0-0 16, Parker 4-10 1-2 11, Smith 2-4 5-6 10, Robinson 4-6 4-5 14, Schomaeker 1-2 0-0 2, Brown 2-5 0-0 4, Wehri 0-2 0-0 0, Agunga 2-2 0-1 4. TOTALS: 31-64 12-16 84.

HALFTIME: Findlay, 47-28.

3-Point GOALS: Lake Erie 4-11 (Kidd 2-3, Grendel 1-1, Bradshaw 1-3, Roberts 0-2, McNabb 0-2). Findlay (Hyde 4-9, Robison 2-3, Parker 2-6, Smith 1-1, Coon 1-2, Brown 0-3) 10-24.

rebounds: Lake Erie 31 (Roberts 6, Worthey 5); Findlay 37 (Avery & Hyde 7).

ASSISTS: Lake Erie 14 (Kidd 5, Davis 3); Findlay 23 (Hyde & Parker 5, Coon & Smith 4).

STEALS: Lake Erie 8 (Worthey, Bradshaw & Grendel 2); Findlay 14 (Parker 3).

BLOCKS: Lake Erie 4; Findlay 5 (Avery 3).

turnovers: Lake Erie 17, Findlay 9.

TOTAL FOULS: Lake Erie 15, Findlay 12.

FOULED OUT: None.

Lester: 419-422-5151,

Send an e-mail to Brian Lester


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