Box Score ASHLAND, Ohio – It's a common strategy in basketball. If a team is struggling offensively, the coach will usually call for the ball to get pounded inside to wear down the defense.
That is exactly what happened in Ashland's 69-65 win over GLIAC South foe Tiffin in men's basketball action at Kates Gymnasium Thursday (Jan. 13) evening.
Sophomore center Evan Yates (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) scored 20 of his career-high 26 points in the second half to lead the Eagles to the win, their third in the last four games.
Ashland scored 34 of its 69 points from inside the paint and added 16 from the free throw line, where they shot 72.7 percent for the game.
Yates was relentless in the second half and the Eagles continued to feed the 6-foot-6, 240-pound post player, who was 5-for-9 from the field and 10-for-15 from the line in the last 20 minutes. All of his free throws came in the second half.
The Eagles (7-6, 2-5 GLIAC) controlled much of the first half, leading by as many as 10 points and going into halftime with a 34-26 lead.
Ashland felt that lead slip away as the Dragons (3-12, 1-7 GLIAC) went on a 29-8 run in the first 11-plus minutes of the second half to build a 53-44 lead with 8:33 to play.
Yates converted a three-point play with 16:46 left, but the Eagles were without a field goal for more than nine minutes until senior forward Blake Saunders (Hinsdale, Ill./Sonoma State) made a layup to trim the Tiffin lead to 53-48 with 7:39 to play.
Tiffin maintained its lead and built it to seven, 60-53 with 5:27 left, but Yates made a layup and got two free throws on the next possession to trim it to 60-57.
Freshman guard Jordan Berlin (Wilmington, Ohio) followed with a three-pointer after a Tiffin turnover.
Tiffin's Joe Graessle hit two free throws to regain the Dragons' 62-60 lead, but after a couple misses on both ends Berlin stepped into a fast-break three-pointer that gave the Eagles a 63-62 lead, forcing a Tiffin timeout by coach John Hill.
Yates hit a pair of free throws with 2:12 on the clock to push the lead to three, but Keenan Barlow knocked down a three-pointer on the fast-break to tie the game again at 65-65.
The Eagles did not allow a point after that as sophomore guard David Harris (Cincinnati, Ohio/Florida) got a steal and Yates pulled down an offensive rebound off a miss by senior forward Kale Richardson (Carroll, Ohio/Bloom-Carroll) and went to the line after a foul against Rafael Cuellar. Yates calmly knocked down the pair with 1:00 to play.
The Dragons turned it over after they could not inbound on the ensuing play. Berlin missed a jumper that would have pushed the lead to two possessions, but Karl Finley's runner from left of the lane came up short with 10 seconds left and sophomore guard Ronnie Steward (Columbus, Ohio/Akron) hit two free throws to close the game after a foul against Tiffin.
The Dragons came into the game as the GLIAC's top rebounding team and beat the Eagles on the glass, 42-31. Yates led the Eagles with eight rebounds, while Richardson pulled down six.
Berlin had a career-high 10 points and Harris added 10 points and five assists as the third Eagle in double-figure scoring.
Graessle led the Dragons with 12 points and Cuellar and Finley added 11 markers each.
The Eagles will remain on their home floor for their final nonconference date of the season when Lourdes visits Kates Gymnasium on Saturday (Jan. 15) at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles beat the Gray Wolves, 80-70, in the season opener.
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