FINDLAY, Ohio - The Ohio Dominican Panthers men's basketball team went to the University of Findlay to battle the Oilers on Saturday (Jan. 28) afternoon. 

After a full 40 minutes of action, the Panthers rallied with an 88-85 win as Ohio Dominican erased a 12 point first half deficit to take down the Oilers. 

BOX SCORE NOTES

• Zach Szul (Waterville, Ohio) scored a game-high 29 points on Saturday. He made seven-of-12 field goals with a pair of three pointers. He went 13-of-15 at the free throw line, tying his career high at the charity stripe. Szul tied his teammate in rebounding, grabbing six boards. 
  • The guard has scored at least ten points in 14 games and has surpassed 20 points in seven contests this season. 
  • He scored ten points in the first half before adding 19 points in the second period, including nine-of-ten free throw attempts. 
• Jarius Jones (Gahanna, Ohio) finished with 13 points in the game after nine points in the first half. He scored on six field goal makes with a three pointer. He pulled down four rebounds and was tied for a team and career-best three steals.
• Kevin James (Massillon, Ohio) returned to action after missing the last 11 games. In 20 minutes off the bench, James added 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block. 
  • He tied career-highs in points scored, rebounds, assists and blocks while breaking his previous steal mark (two). 
• Sean Marks (Delaware, Ohio) drilled three triples in an 11-point effort. 
• Caleb Laurich (Akron, Ohio), in 15 minutes off the bench, scored eight points with six rebounds. 
• Ohio Dominican shot 56.4% for the game, the second best shooting performance of the season. The Panthers made 31-of-55 shots from the floor, compared to Findlay's 45.9% with 28-of-61 shooting.
  • When the Panthers shoot over 50%, they are 3-0 this season. 
• The first half saw ODU set season-highs in points scored (44) and field goal % (59.3%). 
• The Panthers outrebounded the Oilers 31-29. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Findlay scored the first seven points before opening an 12-point lead twice in the first seven minutes. The Oilers led 20-8 and 23-11, the largest lead for the home team. 
• In the next five minutes, ODU answered with a 13-6 run to close the gap to 29-24 with 7:40 left in the first half. 
• Findlay led by ten points three times in the next three minutes, sitting with a 40-30 lead at the 4:27 mark. 
• The Panthers tied the game with a 14-4 run in the final 4:21 before Findlay beat the buzzer with a late layup, taking a 46-44 lead into halftime. 
  • Jarius Jones scored five points as five different players allowed the Panthers to slim the Oiler lead. 
• Ohio Dominican tied the game twice in the first 2:30 of the second half but Findlay continued to push forward, leading 60-52 with 14:12 remaining. 
• A 7-0 ODU run pulled the Panthers to a 60-59 deficit with 11:57 to go. 
• Both teams went punch-for-punch over the next four minutes, as ODU got the lead to one point three times. 
• With 6:45 left, Keshawn Heard (Newark, Ohio) converted a second chance layup and a foul to give the Panthers a 73-71 lead. 
• Findlay tied and then trailed twice before the 5:10 mark of the half. Sean Marks hit a three pointer for a 78-75 advantage. 
• The Oilers took back the lead with five straight points, an 80-78 lead with 3:04 to go on the clock. 
• Back-to-back threes from Szul and Marks allowed ODU to take the lead and lead by four with 1:39 left. 
• ODU hung on for an 88-85 win despite Findlay making a late charge, including two late three point attempts. 

UP NEXT

Ohio Dominican heads to Kentucky Wesleyan on Thursday (Feb. 2) with a chance to close the gap to the eighth seed in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. 

Contact: Tyler Stotsky
stotskyt@ohiodominican.edu