Oakland City, IN - The Mighty Oaks men's basketball team hosted the Hilltoppers of Ohio University-Chillicothe in the Johnson Center, looking to win their second game in a row for the first time this season. After building a 55-26 lead at the halftime buzzer, OCU finished off their win, 110-61.
Tyler Toopes led all scorers in the game, posting a season best 43 points, on 17-26 shooting, including 7-13 from three point range.
Jacob Sanford added 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while
Nathaniel Schmittler had a double-double, scoring 15 points and hauling in a game high 13 rebounds. JD Hoover chipped in with 12 points, on 4-8 shooting, including 2-3 from three point range.
Gabe O'Dell was the leading scorer for the Hilltoppers, scoring 13 points, while grabbing a team best seven rebounds. Rex Hartman added 12 counters and six boards, while Aaron Benson came off the bench to score 11 in the loss.
As a team, OCU shot 42-79 (53.2%) from the field, going 12-24 (50.0%) from three point range. The Hilltoppers scored on 23-74 (31.1%) of their shot attempts, going 10-36 (27.8%) from beyond the arc. The Oaks made 14-17 (82.4%) from the charity stripe, compared to 5-8 (62.5%) for OU-Chillicothe.
Rebounds were 57-33 in favor of the Mighty Oaks, including a 15-11 edge on the offensive glass. OCU handed out 29 assists, compared to 11 for the Hilltoppers, while winning the turnover battle 16-11.
The Mighty Oaks, now 3-9, will again take on the Hilltoppers, who fell to 1-11, in the Johnson Center, on Sunday, December 15, with the women's game tipping off at 1:15, followed by the men's contest scheduled for 3:00 pm.
