ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The accomplished senior class with Alex White and Trey Smith from third-seeded Findlay made their final stand together in the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional semifinal against Bellarmine on Sunday evening.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference-represented Oilers fell to No. 2 seed Bellarmine by a final score of 74-59 in Neil Carey Arena.
The Oilers were making a bid for the program’s third straight NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, and second in as many years as a member institution with the Great Midwest.
Findlay defeated No. 6 Drury in the first round of the regional on Saturday, a five-point margin of victory, 71-66, over the Panthers from the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
It was also a rematch against the same Knights squad that Findlay defeated in last year’s regional semifinal. Knowing the rivalry renewed in recent history between the successful programs, another close finish was to be expected in this meeting.
Bellarmine was able to win the battle of the second half and outscored by the Oilers by 12 to earn a ticket into the regional championship with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.
UF came into the game with 28 wins while Bellarmine had 27 in a match between the No. 7 and No. 8-ranked teams in the nation.
Findlay’s season concluded with a 28-5 overall record and the program was back-to-back regular-season champs getting an at-large selection to the national tourney.
Despite shooting just 36 percent in the first half, the Oilers were within a very manageable three-point deficit going into the locker room. Unfortunately, the disparity continued into the final half as the Knights finished 58.1 percent for the game and the Oilers were a shade over 35 percent.
White crashed hard around midcourt and Trey Smith nailed a three from the wing in the final seconds of the first half for momentum.
Smith and White combined for 19 points in the first half as six different players were able to put points in the box score. Findlay started the second half on a 9-2 run and clamped down defensively as the Knights settled for contested perimeter looks.
White went to work in the post and gave the Oilers a four-point lead after hook shot on the baseline before a double team could arrive.
But Bellarmine then went on a 10-2 run in a span of about seven minutes and the Oilers found themselves down 54-47 with 6:08 left to play. The Knights went up by double digits for the first time on a three from CJ Fleming.
White finished with 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting and also had eight rebounds. Smith added 13, including 10 in the first half.
The NCAA Midwest Regional Championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on Tuesday evening in Neil Carey Arena. The other regional semifinal includes No. 1 Lewis vs. No. 4 Southern Indiana.
Walsh was the other NCAA qualifier from the conference as the Cavaliers bowed out in the quarterfinals against the same Bellarmine squad.