INDIANAPOLIS - With the basketball season getting ready to tip off, teams across the country are taking part in exhibition games to ready themselves for the upcoming year.
 
For one Division II program to take down a Division I in the preseason raises plenty of eyebrows -- but for two schools? -- that alone makes it that much more of a special feat in itself.
 
The Great Midwest was able to do just that in recent history by pulling off victories against Division I opponents Toledo (MAC) and Penn State (Big 10) in respective exhibition tilts.
 
Last Tuesday, Findlay’s men’s team defeated the University of Toledo in a raucous environment at Croy Gymnasium to help raise $6,500 towards hurricane relief aid.
 
The Oilers shot almost 50 percent from the floor in the contest and showed why they warranted being selected as the unanimous choice for the preseason favorite in the conference.
 
The Oilers were led by Martyce Kimbrough as the senior guard put up 22 points on 8-of-21 shooting. Kimbrough also made six three-pointers in the contest.
 
Findlay took a nine-point lead into halftime and was able to hold off Toledo in the second half while taking advantage of 17 Rockets’ turnovers and turned them into 27 points on the other end.
 
The Cedarville women’s team also squared off against a Division I opponent on Sunday. The Yellow Jackets’ spoiled host Penn State University’s first game of the season in this exhibition with the final score standing at 59-53.
 
Down six at halftime, Cedarville used a third-quarter surge in which it outscored the Nittany Lions by 10 to take a lead it would hold. The Yellow Jackets were led by Baylee Bennett with 18 points, followed by Kaitlyn Holm with 14 and Regina Hochstetler with 10. The trio combined for 42 of Cedarville’s 59 points. Breanne Watterworth also grabbed 10 rebounds.
 
The Yellow Jackets showed why they were the preseason coaches poll runner-up just behind Ursuline with three first-place votes.
 
Great Midwest teams will try to continue to build on the momentum this week as the Kentucky Wesleyan men travels to University of Louisville on Monday and Hillsdale will make the trip to Michigan State University on Friday. The Trevecca women also play Middle Tennessee State while the men also are hosting a hurricane relief fundraiser with an exhibition against Belmont on Thursday.