FINDLAY, Ohio-Martyce Kimbrough hit a free throw with 1.8 seconds remaining as the host Findlay Oilers escaped with 70-69 victory over the No. 3 Bellarmine Knights tonight in a non-conference game at Croy Gymnasium.

Seconds earlier, Rusty Troutman had tied the score at 69 apiece with a layup on a drive to the basket with just five ticks on the clock. Findlay advanced the ball into their offensive end of the court then got a timeout with three seconds remaining.

Bellarmine's Al Davis then got whistled for his fifth foul of the game as Kimbrough fielded the inbounds pass to set up the game winning free throw.

"It wasn't a one play game," said Bellarmine Coach Scott Davenport in his postgame comments. "We didn't play 40 minutes. We had no answer for them inside. They dominated us inside...we gave up 15 offensive rebounds and turn it over 19 times. The points off turnovers and second chance points beat us without a doubt-no ifs, ands, or buts. When you shoot 50 percent and hold them to 39 (percent) you should win the game...this was very disappointing."

From the outset, the Knights found themselves in a deep deficit, falling behind by 10 less than five minutes into the game as the host Oiler ran out to a quick 14-4 lead. That margin extended to fifteen until late in the half when Brent Bach came off the bench to give the Knights a spark with eight quick points as Bellarmine cut the deficit to just six at the break.

Unfortunately, Bellarmine could not maintain the momentum after halftime as Findlay scored the first eight points of the second period. Again, the Knights cut into the lead and finally pulled even with just 1:23 remaining on a George Suggs 3-pointer.

After a pair of free throws gave Findlay a 67-65 lead, the Knights again tied it with a layup by Davis.

Findlay then got a layup from Nick Ruthsatz to give the Oilers a 69-67 advantage with 11 ticks remaining. After a Bellarmine timeout, Troutman converted his game-tying layup before Kimbrough hit the game-winning free throw.

Troutman ended the contest with a double-double, registering game highs in both points with 17 and rebounds with 10. Davis (12), Suggs (11) and Bach (11) also scored in double digits for the Knights.

The Oilers were led by Kimbrough's 16 points and John Staley's nine rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive end. "He had eight in 24 minutes, and as team, we had eight in 200 minutes," Davenport pointed out in his postgame comments.

For the game, Bellarmine owned advantages in shooting and rebounding, winning the battle of the backboards by a slim 34-33 margin. However, as Coach Davenport alluded to after the game, the Oilers owned a 16-3 edge in second chance points.

Bellarmine suffers its first defeat of the season to fall to 3-1 overall while the Oilers improve to 2-2 on the season.

The Knights now face a stern test on Friday as they play No. 11 Midwestern State in the Bill Joergens Memorial Classic on the campus of Southern Indiana.

BOX SCORE (HTM)