Box Score ASHLAND, Ohio – The AU men's basketball team brought an attitude not usually associated with the Christmas season to Kates Gymnasium on Friday (Dec. 30) night. The Eagles hounded Edinboro on the defensive end, holding one of the country's top offensive teams to just 61 points in a 73-61 win.
The Eagles (5-6) held the Fighting Scots to just 37 percent shooting for the game, including a 31.3 mark in the second half. The Scots scored just 23 points in the second half – that's the lowest output for a half by an AU opponent since the Eagles held Rio Grande to 20 points in the first half on Nov. 23, 2010.
Edinboro (6-4) entered the game ranked 10th in the country in scoring, averaging 87.2 points per game and shooting 47.7 percent from the field.
"I was really proud of our guys tonight," said AU head coach John Ellenwood. "That's a very good offensive team. We came back from Christmas break focused and ready to play. They had five guys averaging double figures and we focused on taking two of those guys out of the game."
Junior forward Evan Yates (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) dropped in 22 points and a game-high 15 rebounds (seven offensive), including nine in the second half. Redshirt-freshman guard DaWuan Thomas (Dayton, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison) scored a career high 19 points in his first start of the season.
"It was a pretty good game," Thomas said. "Evan demands a double team every time and I was able to knock down shots. The practice is paying off."
Thomas had 12 of his points in the second half when the Eagles started to pull away. His 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock with 3:51 to play gave the Eagles a 65-57 lead and capped a 5-0 mini-run.
"I can't say enough about DaWuan Thomas," Ellenwood said. "He was in the gym at nine o'clock this morning with Coach (Jared) Ronai just working and getting ready. It was his first start and he did a great job on both ends of the floor."
Yates drew the assignment of guarding Edinboro's leading scorer Bryan Theriot, who entered the game averaging 21.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Yates drew a foul on Theriot on AU's first possession, resulting in a three-point play. At the 16:59 mark, Theriot picked up his second foul. He finished with just six points and five rebounds in 16 minutes.
"I'm proud of him because he accepted the challenge of going against another 20-and-10 guy. We challenged EV to go at him early and he did. I thought he did a great job attacking him," Ellenwood said. "Twenty-two points and 15 rebounds is a pretty ho-hum night for him."
At the last update Yates was the nation's leader in rebounding and improved his season average to 13.5 boards per game. He also leads the GLIAC in scoring and is second in field goal percentage and blocked shots.
The Eagles scored the game's first eight points and led 15-4 with 14:52 left in the first half, but the Scots responded with an 11-0 run to tie the game at 15-15. The teams traded the lead several times before halftime and sophomore forward Will Evans (Lexington, Ky./Christian Academy) knocked down a pair of free throws with 0.5 seconds left to give AU a 40-38 lead at the break.
Ashland led for much of the second half, but could not put away the Fighting Scots until the final five minutes after Thomas' clutch 3-pointer.
Senior forward Antoine Childs (Beaver Falls, Pa./Western Carolina) had 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in just 15 minutes off the bench. Freshman guard T.J. Riggs (Bloomington, Ill.) had all of his career best six points in the first half.
"That wasn't our best shooting night, but our guys off the bench did a great job," said Ellenwood.
The Eagles shot 90.5 percent (19-for-21) from the free throw line and 43.1 percent (25-for-58) from the field. They out-scored the Scots, 40-30, in the paint and 17-9 in bench scoring.
Jay Fletcher led the Scots with 16 points and Cory Somerville contributed 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
The Eagles resume GLIAC play on Jan. 5 when they host No. 18 Findlay at Kates Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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