UF women edged by Malone in G-MAC semis

WOMEN'S BASKETBALLMALONE 57FINDLAY 56MIDLAND, MICH.—The University of Findlay women's basketball team was five seconds away from a berth in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament final.Findlay led 24-5 Malone 56-55 after a fastbreak layup by Ariyah Douglas with 24 seconds left in regulation.The second-seeded Pioneers called timeout, then took the clock down to 11 seconds and called another.Then, with Malone looking for the go-ahead basket and in the bonus, UF's Allie Stockton was called for a foul on Brinn Hunt with five seconds remaining.Hunt, who had only gone 1 of 2 from the foul line to that point, stepped to the stripe and knocked down both foul shots, giving the Pioneers a one-point lead.The Oilers still had a chance, but turned it over on the ensuing possession, and Malone won 57-56. It was UF's 20th turnover of the game; Malone had 11. Hunt finished with 17 points to lead the Pioneers, who will advance to today's tournament final against top-seeded Northwood. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.Douglas – who shined in two tournament games – finished with 12 points, six rebounds and two steals. She had two layups in the final minute.Stockton scored 15 points, a team-high, and had four boards. Alyssa Ziehler – who earlier in the day was named to the all-G-MAC first team – capped her collegiate career with 12 points and six rebounds. MacKenzie Schulz – a second-team all-conference selection – had a team-high 10 boards to go with six points. Findlay had a major advantage on the glass, with the Oilers outrebounding the Pioneers 40-24.Findlay led 25-23 at halftime, and trailed by a point going into the fourth quarter. There were nine lead changes.Malone's Erin Kaufman, an Ottawa-Glandorf graduate who was named first-team all-G-MAC, finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Her sister Katie, who also plays for Malone, had two points.UF finished the season at 16-13. FINDLAY (16-13) Stockton 5-3--15; Ziehler 6-0--12; Schulz 2-2--6; Stanley 2-0--4; Mescher 1-0--3; Douglas 5-0--12; Freeman 1-2--4. TOTALS: 22-54--7-11--56. MALONE (25-5) Hunt 6-3--17; Kaufman 4-7--15; Maroto 3-0--6; Oliver 2-0--4; Krupa 1-0--3; Bruce 1-0--3; Randulic 1-0--3; Armstrong 0-2--2; Barber 1-0--2; Kaufman 1-0--2. TOTALS: 20-54--12-14--57 Findlay 15 10 15 16 -- 56 Malone 14 9 18 16 -- 57 3-POINT GOALS: Findlay 5-18 (Stockton 2, Douglas 2, Mescher); Malone 5-19 (Hunt 2, Krupa, Bruce, Randulic). REBOUNDS: Findlay 40 (Schulz 10); Malone 24 (E. Kaufman 7). TURNOVERS: Findlay 20, Malone 11. MEN'S BASKETBALLG-MAC SEMIFINALWALSH 87FINDLAY 77NORTH CANTON – Facing No. 1 seeded Walsh in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference tournament semifinals Friday in North Canton, the University of Findlay men's basketball team was constantly playing a game of catch-up.An early 3-pointer by Jagger Landers gave the Oilers a brief 12-7 lead, but the Cavaliers promptly scored nine straight points to take the lead.And though the Oilers made a number of challenges throughout the game, Walsh never gave up the lead, beating UF, 87-77.Walsh, the regular season G-MAC champion and the 14th-ranked team in Division II, improved to 26-3 and will face Lake Erie in the tournament finals today at 3 p.m.Kobe Mitchell led the Cavaliers, connecting on seven 3-point field goals and finishing with a game-high 25 points to go with six rebounds.Overall, Walsh shot extremely well from the floor, making 29 of 57 field goals and going 13 of 29 from 3-point range.Matthew Biddell and Kaleb Schaffer each scored 16 points for the Cavaliers.Walsh led just 43-40 at the break, and was up only 62-58 after Landers connected on a jumper from the paint with 10:01 left in regulation.The Oilers got within five at the 7:13 mark, when Findlay High School graduate Javonte Hill stole the ball from Walsh's Quintero Barnett and delivered a fastbreak layup, making it 69-65.But the Cavaliers weathered the storm, and took control of the contest in the final six minutes.After Hill's bucket, Walsh went on an 18-7 spurt, extending its lead to 87-72 after a Zach Oddo layup with 3:07 left.For Findlay, Landers finished with 18 points and six rebounds, while second-team all-G-MAC selection Mekhi Elmore ended with 16 points. Hill put up 12.Mason Brandt, a Leipsic graduate who, like Elmore, was a second-team all-G-MAC selection, corralled six rebounds and two steals to go with two points.Alex Kendall scored 14 for UF.The Oilers ended the season with an 18-12 record.FINDLAY (18-12)Elmore 6-3—16; Kendall 5-3—14; Meister 2-2—6; Johnson 2-0—4; Brandt 1-0—2; Landers 5-6—18; Hill 5-0—12; Thorbahn 2-0—5. TOTALS: 28-61—14-23—77WALSH (26-3)Mitchell 7-4—25; Biddell 5-5—16; Gross 4-0—8; Barnett 3-2—8; Oddo 1-0—2; Schaffer 6-2—16; Ford 2-0—6; Monterrubio 1-3-5; Cunningham 0-2—2. TOTALS: 29-57—16-23—87.HALFTIME: Walsh 43-40.3-POINT GOALS: Findlay 7-26 (Landers 2, Hill 2 Thorbahn, Elmore, Kendall); Walsh 13-29 (Mitchell 7, Ford 2, Schaffer 2, Biddell, Barnett).REBOUNDS: Findlay 33 (Brandt 6, Landers 6, Meister 6); Walsh 36 (Mitchell 6, Cunningham 6)TURNOVERS: Findlay 14; Walsh 15. BOYS BASKETBALL COL. CRAWFORD 68PATRICK HENRY 55WILLARD – Colonel Crawford built 34-21 halftime lead, then weathered Patrick Henry's second-half comeback to beat the Patriots 68-55 on Friday in a Division VI district championship game at Willard.Colonel Crawford's big three came through big time for the 22-2 Eagles.Brayden Holt, a 6-foot-1 senior who is the Northern 10 Conference and District 7 Player of the Year this season, converted 13 free throws, pumped in 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.Payne DeGray, a 6-5 senior who was runner-up to Holt in player of the year balloting in both the league and the district, scored 16 points and also grabbed 10 boards.John DeGray, a 6-3 junior, added 13 points as the Eagles punched their ticket to Thursday's Division VI regional semifinals at Bowling Green State University and a third-time-around rematch with Seneca East (19-6). The two teams squared off twice in home-and-home N10 games this season, with Colonel Crawford winning 67-34 at home and 61-48 in Attica.Seneca East earned its spot in the regional semifinals by nipping Van Buren 39-37 in a district final at Liberty-Benton.In completing a 20-5 season, Patrick Henry was led by its season-long standouts as well. Mack Hieber, a 6-6 senior who is the school's career scoring leader, scored 22 points in his final basketball game for the Patriots. Those 22 points boosted Hieber's season total to 558, a school record.Reid Creager, a 6-3 junior closing in on the 1,000-point milestone himself, led the Patriots with 24 points.P. HENRY (20-5)Creager 9-1—24, Hieber 8-3—22, Schroeder 3-1—9. TOTALS: 20-5—55.COL. CRAWFORD (22-2)Holt 6-13—28, P. DeGray 6-4—16, J. DeGray 6-2—14, Baker 3-0—9, Weithman 0-1—1. TOTALS: 21-20—68.Patrick Henry 13 8 20 14—55Col. Crawford 17 17 13 18—683-POINT GOALS: Patrick Henry 10 (Creager 5, Hieber 3, Schroeder 2); Colonel Crawford 6 (Holt 3, Baker 3). GYNASTICSFINDLAY – It will be familiar territory for Findlay High's Josey Weihrauch and a new experience for three other gymnasts when the individual competition is held Sunday at the 2026 state meet at Hilliard Bradley High School.Weihrauch is making a second straight trip to the state meet. The FHS junior was a district champion on vault with score of 9.000, placed second on uneven bars (8.650) and was third in the district all-around standings with 34.725 points.Renee Metzger and Madalyn Oman will also be competing in the all-around competition at state. Metzger placed first at district on beam (9.225) and was fourth all-around (34.525).Oman, a freshman who attends Cory-Rawson but trains with Findlay, punched her ticket to state by placing second in the all-around scoring with 34.875 points. Her best district finishes were a second on vault (8.950) and a fourth on bars (8,525).Findlay freshman Avalon Sprang will also be competing at state in the vault after placing sixth in that veent (8.800) at districts. WRESTLINGFINDLAY – Pins and points and will be at a premium this weekend as local and area wrestlers look to place high enough in district meets across Northwest Ohio to qualify for next week's state tournament in Columbus.Findlay High wrestlers will compete in the Division I district meet at Perrysburg. Division II wrestlers will be at Norwalk, with Division III competition at Rossford. The one-division girls wrestling district will be hosted by Findlay on Sunday.The top four wrestlers in each of the 14 weight classes will advance to the 2026 state meet March 13-15 at the Schottenstein Center on the Ohio State University campus. GOLF SHOWThere will be a golf show and rummage sale today at Salem New Beginnings Church on CR 236 in Findlay from 9-3 p.m. Parking and admission will be free and all proceeds will benefit the Findlay Area Golf Association and Skyview Ranch. ScheduleSaturday's EventsBoys BasketballDIVISION VI DISTRICT FINALSGibsonburg vs. Lincolnview at Lake, 3 p.m. DIVISION VII DISTRICT FINALSArlington vs. South Central at Lima Senior, 2 p.m.Arcadia vs. Delphos St. John's at Elida, 7 p.m.Kalida vs. Minster at Van Wert, 7 p.m.Old Fort vs. Tiffin Calvert at Galion, 7 p.m.Miller City vs. Montpelier at Bryan, 7 p.m.Stryker vs. Pettisville at Oregon Clay, 7 p.m. Girls BasketballREGIONAL FINALSDIVISION VOttawa-Glandorf vs. Columbus Africentric at Mansfield Senior, 4:30 p.m.DIVISION VIPatrick Henry vs. Margaretta at Bluffton University, 6 p.m.DIVISION VIIOttoville vs. Stryker at Bluffton University, noonSeneca East vs. Maplewood at Massillon, 7 p.m. Boys WrestlingDivision I district at PerrysburgDivision II district at NorwalkDivision III district at Rossford Sunday's EventsGymnasticsState individual meet at Hilliard Bradley High School. Girls WrestlingDistrict meet at Findlay High School.