Thorbahn's hot shooting helps Oilers advance past Panthers

COLUMBUS– It was a tale of two halves in Columbus on Tuesday night. Luckily for the University of Findlay, it chose the right one to win.The Oilers defeated Ohio Dominican, 76-64, on the road in a first-round playoff matchup, thanks in large part to their excellent senior group. Findlay graduate student Josh Thorbahn lit up the Panthers in the second half, draining three consecutive long-range jumpers to jumpstart Findlay's climb to take the lead, and ultimately the game. "I'm just so happy for him," Findlay coach Charlie Ernst said. "And to be honest, so are his teammates, because they know how much time he puts into the game. He's in the gym. I know coaches say this, but this is zero exaggeration. Josh is in the gym every single day at 8 a.m., if not earlier. He stays for an hour, and he's in a lather by the end. So, those shots. There's a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, that's what that is. I think everyone on the team has confidence he'll make those, because of the work he puts in."Seniors Jagger Landers and Max Roth each hit some tough shots down the stretch when the Oilers needed a shot in the arm. Senior wing Mason Brandt showcased his blend of rebounding and defense, helping to lock down ODU's top scorer as the game wore on. Senior scorer Mekhi Elmore practically got whatever he wanted at the rim all game, able to take advantage of a weak interior defensive unit. Findlay got off to a hot start, as sophomore big Alex Kendall scored the first seven points of the game, and, along with an Elmore layup, helped the Oilers get off to a 9-2 lead. Junior table-setter Anthony Johnson picked up right where he left off from Saturday, with eight points in the first half. The Oilers were in a hole going into halftime, 39-36 as Panthers sophomore shooter Derek Goodman was shooting the lights out from beyond the arc. Goodman went 4-of-5 from downtown in the first half, scoring 14 points and taking advantage of some miscues from Findlay's defense. The second half, however, saw a much more keyed in defensive effort from the Oilers, as Goodman finished with just 19 points and felt increased pressure on and off the ball. Goodman managed to go 1-of-8 from the field in the second half, including 0-for-4 from distance. His dismal second-half stroke was a major reason for the Oilers' success in the latter half of the game. "It was a group effort," Ernst said. "But I do think because of our switching, then he ended up with different guys on him. Because of our switches, our guys were quick enough to stay in front of him."Thorbahn's aforementioned trio of deep-range bombs came in the middle of a 15-3 stretch that led to the Oilers grabbing a 10-point advantage. The Panthers tried to claw back into things, but a 6-0 Findlay run inside three minutes sealed an Oiler victory. "He sticks to it," Roth said. "He's in the gym every single day, and he's committed to getting better every single day. Shooting however many shots he takes, you can rely on him. You always know what you're gonna get with (Josh). He had his chance today, he stepped up, and it really helped us.""We thought we were in it the whole time," Roth added. "There wasn't really a point where we thought we were falling behind. Just staying with our plan, sticking to it, and obviously cranking it up a notch. That's at least two games in a row, that the second half has really boosted us, and honestly probably won the game for us. You know March, it's survive and advance."Elmore and Johnson each ended with 14 for the Oilers. Elmore added four rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Steele Meister had 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists. Landers scored 10, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the stripe. Thorbahn ended with nine points, continuing to prove his value as a lights-out shooter. Kendall put up seven points and six rebounds, while Roth notched seven as well. Goodman posted 19 points, and six rebounds for the Panthers, recording a game-high 7 turnovers. Carson Seemann scored 11 points and corralled four rebounds. Zac Kimball put up 10 points and three boards. Both Elijah Hinton (7 rebounds) and Kenny Scott tacked on eight points."It's been the story of the last two weeks of the season," Ernst said. "Behind at Hillsdale at halftime, behind to Ashland at halftime, behind today at halftime. Sometimes I think the regular season can help you, from that standpoint. Not just rhythm and those things, but I don't think our guys were panicky at all. In fact, I think our guys were actually confident at halftime as much as any game we've had over the last two weeks." "We have put three really good second halves together," Ernst continued. "I think what that tells our opponents is, Findlay's gonna play 40 minutes. And I think that's really what good teams do."The Oilers improved to 18-11 and have a tough task ahead in the second round. Findlay has Walsh University to look forward to on Friday, a team that is ranked first in the G-MAC and 14th in the country. The Cavaliers scored two back-to-back victories over the Oilers back in December, both single-digit wins. Walsh decimated Hillsdale 76-49 in opening-round action on Tuesday night. FINDLAYElmore 5-4–14, Johnson 6-1–14, Meister 5-1–11, Landers 3-4–10, Thorbahn 3-0–9, Kendall 3-0–7, Roth 3-0–7, Brandt 2-0–4. TOTALS: 30-10–76.ODUGoodman 6-3–19, Seemann 4-2-11, Kimball 5-0–10, Hinton 2-4–8, Scott 2-3–8, Conard 2-2–6, Broughton 1-0–2. TOTALS: 22-14–64.HALFTIME SCORE: 39-36, ODU.THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS: Findlay 6-19 (Thorbahn 3); ODU 6-24 (Goodman 4).REBOUNDS: Findlay 26 (Meister, Kendall 6); ODU 33 (Hinton 7).TURNOVERS: Findlay 9, ODU 17.