Box Score ASHLAND, Ohio – As this season has progressed so has the Ashland University men's basketball team. The low point might have been a 70-43 defeat at Kates Gymnasium to Hillsdale on Dec. 1. On Saturday (Dec. 17) afternoon, the Eagles showed they are growing up, but have work to do on the details.
Ashland fought Hillsdale to the brink, but ultimately succumbed to the Chargers, 82-79, in Hillsdale.
Junior guard Ronnie Steward (Columbus, Ohio/Akron) connected on a 3-pointer with three seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 70-70 and send it to overtime.
The Eagles opened the scoring in overtime after junior forward Evan Yates (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) finished his own miss. The teams traded a couple baskets and Ashland led by two points with 2:38 left in the game.
Hillsdale guard Tyler Gerber knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner with just over two minutes left to give the Chargers their first lead of the overtime period. AU redshirt-freshman guard Jorian Hudson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati) knocked down a 3-pointer of his own to lift AU to a 78-76 lead with 1:37 left. Hudson had all of his career-high 14 points in the second half and overtime.
On the other end, HC forward Brad Guinane knocked down a jumper to tie the game.
Both teams split a pair of free throws and the Eagles had the ball with the shot clock turned off. Yates had his short shot blocked and he was called for a foul in the scramble for the loose ball with 2.8 seconds left. That and a technical foul against the AU bench gave the Chargers four free throws. Hillsdale knocked down 3-of-4 to take a three-point lead. After an AU timeout Gerber stole the inbounds pass and sent the Chargers to the win.
Yates led five Eagles in double figures with his seventh double-double of the season. He totaled game-highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-6 junior was 8-for-13 from the field, but struggled from the line, going 6-for-12. The Eagles shot just 57 percent (12-for-21) from the line in the game.
The Chargers led for the entire game until less than four minutes remained in the second half. Hillsdale led by eight, 62-54, with 6:24 left, but Hudson scored eight points on three straight possessions to tie the game at 62-62. After another defensive stop, sophomore forward Will Evans (Lexington, Ky./Christian Academy) scored on his own put back to give AU its first lead of the game at 64-62.
Hillsdale regained the lead and led by three points with 35 seconds left. Steward tied the game on the next AU possession to send it to overtime.
Steward finished with 13 points and was 2-for-3 from 3-point range. He entered the game ranked third in the GLIAC in 3-point accuracy. Evans had 11 points and five rebounds and sophomore guard Jordan Berlin (Wilmington, Ohio) added 10 points and six boards.
Both teams shot 54 percent from the field. The Chargers entered the game with the 11th-best defense in the country and the top defense in the GLIAC. The Eagles shot 9-for-17 from 3-point range and the Chargers hit on 9-for-20 from outside. AU had a slight edge on the glass, 32-28.
The Chargers were led by Guinane, who nearly had a triple-double with 19 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Gerber had 19 points, six helpers and three steals.
Ashland concludes its brief two-game road trip on Monday (Dec. 19) night at Northwood. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
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