UF men upend 'physical team' Northwood, 93-81

FINDLAY– Six players scored in double figures as the University of Findlay's men's basketball team defeated Northwood University on Saturday, 93-81. It was the Oilers eighth win in 10 games.Things were pretty evenly matched to begin Saturday's contest, with the teams trading baskets early. A big alley-oop dunk from senior Mason Brandt opened the game up for the Oilers, who went on a quick run and too a nine-point lead about halfway through the first half. Another putback dunk from Brandt saw the Oilers take a 45-37 advantage into the break. The beginning of the second half saw a reinvigorated Northwood team claw back into the game, bringing Findlay's lead down to just two points, as the Timberwolves trailed 67-65 with 11 and a half minutes to go. Once again, it was Brandt's high-flying ability that provided a spark. Brandt stole the ball at the top of the key, and drove it all the way for a massive slam-dunk in transition. After Brandt's slam, the Oilers lead went up to seven points, then 11, as Findlay all but secured the win. Some free throws down the stretch secured an Oiler victory.The Oilers, who have transformed themselves from one of the worst rebounding teams in the G-MAC to one of the best, grabbed 36 rebounds compared to 31 from the T-Wolves. Eighteen of the Oilers boards were offensive. Findlay is now up to fifth in team rebounding, and second in offensive boards. Findlay also doubled the amount of assists that Northwood had, dishing out 18. Findlay forced Northwood into 18 turnovers, which led to 26 points.. While Northwood looked like a scary matchup on paper, with three players averaging 16 points per game, the Oilers' unselfish play style is extremely hard for G-MAC schools to plan for. Findlay's biggest strength is its depth, not just in talent, but in the attitude and character of its players. "We have a good group of guys that are unselfish," sophomore forward Ian Ioppolo said. "We don't have guys with egos, and I think that plays a big part. A lot of guys are scoring big numbers, they'll have big numbers, but they're not winning. A lot of us just wanna win.""I do think it goes all the way back," UF coach Charlie Ernst said. "It's not one conversation, it's not just one practice. It's the way you do everything. Trying to make our program all about being happy and serving one another, serving other people. It starts with recruiting. Recruiting the right guys from the right programs, where the coaches and the parents of these young men have already started that process."Brandt finished with a double-double in 28 minutes, posting 16 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Junior point guard Anthony Johnson continued to impress in the scoring department, putting up 13 points to go along with six assists. Johnson has improved his efficiency from beyond the arc and the free-throw line, while increasing his scoring average from 8.7 a year ago to 10.7 thus far in his junior campaign. Senior starters Mekhi Elmore and Jagger Landers, along with sophomore big Alex Kendall, all ended with 11 points. Elmore had four rebounds, Landers corralled six rebounds, and Kendall added three assists. Ioppolo, who is a permanent fixture in the Oilers' starting group, finished with 10 points and four rebounds. At 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, Ioppolo is one of the more unique players on Findlay's roster. Ioppolo's combination of speed, size, and strength makes him one of the hardest matchups in the G-MAC, as Ernst can use him in a variety of roles. Sometimes Ioppolo is at the front of the Oilers' press guarding the ball-handler, other times he's down low guarding a post player. "He scored a lot of points last year from the 3-point line," Ernst said. "This year, he worked really hard in the offseason to have a game in the paint. To be able to go to his right hook, and have confidence that he can score on the block. Now, he becomes a really tough matchup." "The thing with Ian is, he's just oozing with potential," Ernst continued. "I probably coach him as hard as I do any of our guys, because I see it. And, most importantly, he's a very coachable kid. He takes criticism really well; it's hard not to love the way he goes about his business.""The main thing for me last year was just shooting," Ioppolo added. "Now, I'm trying to expand my game better. I still feel like I need to do a better job with that, but I'm trying to do more than just shoot and be more effective." The Oilers' three Findlay High graduates: Javonte Hill, Max Roth, and Jake Bishop all played in the same lineup for the first time this year. Hill poured in seven points, Roth had six points, and Bishop added four. Northwood's Will Young II, finished with 17 points and three rebounds. Jamison Eklund recorded 12 points, six rebounds. Brayden Szamrej and Julian Lewis each ended with 10 points. John Simpson scored nine. Parker Day finished with eight points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. "We wanted to keep a positive mindset," Ioppolo said. "We're not used to losing, especially league games. We knew Northwood was a good team, they're very physical. We were gonna have to out-tough them, out-rebound them, do all the little things better. I thought we did a good job of that.""I've been harping for the last 36 hours that this was gonna be a very physical game," Ernst said. "Northwood is a very physical team, they're good at what they do. Unlike maybe some teams, I feel like they've already got a little bit of an identity as a team. For some teams, it takes a lot more of the season than just a month...I thought our guys really answered the call tonight.""We've got big guys too, man," Ioppolo said. "A lot of people think of us as a good-shooting team, and that we've just got shooters and soft kids. I think, when we show that physicality, we can really impose our will on teams, and we did a good job of that tonight with them."After losing Thursday to Walsh University in Canton, the Oilers (8-2, 3-1 G-MAC) will host the Cavaliers on Thursday at 7:30 in a rematch. NORTHWOODYoung II 8-1–17, Eklund 5-2–12, Szamrej 4-0–10, Lewis 3-1–10, Simpson 3-3–9, Day 2-4–8, Sweeney 3-2–8, Smith 2-2–7. TOTALS: 30-15–81.FINDLAYBrandt 8-0–16, Johnson 5-3–13, Elmore 4-1–11, Landers 5-0–11, Kendall 5-1–11, Ioppolo 5-0–10, Hill 2-2–7, Roth 1-4–6, Bishop 1-2–4, Thorbahn 1-0–2, Levis 1-0–2. TOTALS: 37-15–93.HALFTIME SCORE: Findlay, 45-37. THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS: Northwood 6-17 (Lewis 3); Findlay 4-23 (Elmore 2).REBOUNDS: Northwood 31 (Eklund 6); Findlay 36 (Brandt 11).TURNOVERS: Northwood 18, Findlay 9.