Local Sports

Sunday, March 14, 2010

D-II Midwest Regional: Grand Valley State rocks UF, 68-56

By BRIAN LESTER

STAFF WRITER

OWENSBORO, Ky. -- With its national-championship defense on the brink of ending Saturday night, the University of Findlay needed to make plays, and they needed them in a hurry.

In the end, the Oilers couldn't put together one more comeback and extend the life of what has been a successful season considering the talent it lost.

As a result, UF lost 68-56 to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Grand Valley State in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional at the Owensboro Sportscenter and there was no question that the setback was difficult to swallow.

"They beat us up tonight," UF head coach Ron Niekamp said. "They are a rough, physical team and they took it to us. It's disappointing that we lost, but I guess we'll look back on this season and see that it was a success in a lot of ways.

Everything seemed to be going so well for the Oilers early on. They drilled five 3-pointers and had a commanding 17-6 lead with 11:50 left in the first half.

But that is when everything changed.

UF got a little careless and GVSU went on the attack, using a 16-0 run that put the Lakers in front 22-17 with just over six minutes to play.

The Oilers (24-7) were never the same.

Every time UF tried to battle back, it couldn't hit the big shot or come up with the key defensive stop as the Lakers pulled away for the win.

UF was out-rebounded 38-32, and 14 of the Lakers' rebounds were on the offensive end that were turned into critical second-chance points.

"They really picked up their energy level and our lead evaporated in a hurry," Niekamp said. "We had no poise at our offensive end and we couldn't get a stop on defense."

The Oilers shot 34 percent (17 of 50) from the field and senior point guard Marcus Parker led the way with 15 points.

Nathan Hyde pumped in 14 points while Tyler Sparks and Aaron Robinson each scored 10.

GVSU shot 40.4 percent (21 of 52) from the field and was led by the effort of Alvin Storrs, who scored 14.

While the season did not end with another national title for the Oilers, Hyde will be one of four seniors on next season's team.

He said he will remember how much Saturday's loss to the rival Lakers stung.

"This hurts, and we will all remember how much it hurt," Hyde said. "We just have to work hard in the offseason and come back even better next season."

grand valley state (68)

Hogan 2-3 6-8 11, Ringler 2-10 1-3 5, Brown 3-5 6-7 13, Storrs 5-8 3-4 14, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Carreri 1-4 0-0 3, Trammell 2-6 0-1 6, Peters 0-3 0-0 0, Morris 1-6 0-0 3, West 5-7 3-3 13. TOTALS: 21-52 19-26--68.

findlay (56)

Hyde 5-9 0-0 14, Parker 4-11 4-4 15, Sparks 3-10 4-6 10, Robinson 4-10 0-0 10, Wehri 0-1 2-2 2, Coon 0-0 0-0 0, Avery 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 0-4 2-2 2, Marsden 0-2 0-0 0, Agunga 1-2 1-2 3. TOTALS: 17-50 13-16--56.

HALFTIME: Grand Valley State, 30-27.

3-Point GOALS: Grand Valley State 7-18 (Trammell 2-4, Hogan 1-1, Brown 1-1, Storrs 1-1, Carreri 1-3, Morris 1-4, Peters 0-1, Ringler 0-3); Findlay 9-22 (Hyde 4-8, Parker 3-6, Robinson 2-6, Sparks 0-1, Smith 0-1).

rebounds: Grand Valley State 38 (Carreri & West 7); Findlay 32 (Sparks 9, Robinson 7). ASSISTS: Grand Valley State 10 (Carreri 3); Findlay 7 (Robinson 4). STEALS: Grand Valley State 7 (Storrs 4); Findlay 4. BLOCKS: Grand Valley State 1, Findlay 0.

turnovers: Grand Valley State 12, Findlay 14.

TOTAL FOULS: Grand Valley State 17, Findlay 19.

FOULED OUT: None.

Lester: 419-422-5151,

brianlester@thecourier.com

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