Box Score Student drivers, when forced to get behind the wheel of a vehicle with standard transmission, are warned not to, "ride the clutch."
Monday night (Dec. 17) at Kates Gymnasium, the Eagles were looking for someone to rise in the clutch and steer them to victory. That player became sophomore guard DaWuan Thomas (Dayton, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison), who drilled a three-point field goal with 47 seconds left in regulation to break a 63-63 tie with Northwood. That triple put the Eagles ahead to stay in a 69-67 victory over the Timberwolves.
The win put an end to a two-game Ashland losing streak. The Eagles are 3-4 overall, 2-3 in the GLIAC. Northwood, the GLIAC North Division champion a year ago, is 2-7 and 1-4 in conference play.
Thomas scored a season-high 17 points. That ties his career high. He was 6-for-12 from the floor and 3-of-6 from three-point range. AU also received 14 points off the bench from sophomore guard Brook Turson (Plymouth, Ohio/Columbus State). That's a season high for Turson, who looks like he could be a candidate for more playing time. Turson pulled down six rebounds at Saginaw Valley State last Saturday. He played 28 minutes against Northwood.
The Eagles needed contributions from every part of the roster because the Timberwolves did an excellent job of bottling up AU's senior forward Evan Yates (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills). Yates ended the game with 10 points and three rebounds in 27 minutes. He came into this game averaging 18.7 ppg., and 10.3 rpg. Yates didn't get a rebound against Northwood until there was 19:01 remaining in regulation.
This was a back-and-forth battle all night. The score was tied seven times and the lead changed hands seven times. AU trailed for most of the first half, but managed to grab a 35-34 lead at the break thanks to a triple by senior guard Ronnie Steward (Columbus, Ohio/Akron) with 1:04 to go before the intermission.
The Eagles stretched their lead to eight points with 16:28 left in the game, but the 'Wolves bounced back and with 12:17 to go, the teams were tied, 46-46.
No one could break away after that. The Thomas three-pointer gave the Eagles a boost and a 66-63 edge, but the Timberwolves didn't go quietly into the night. With 29 seconds left in regulation, Booker Stoudmire (10 points) hit two free throws to bring the 'Wolves to within a point, 66-65. With 26 seconds left, Thomas dropped in two free throws for a 68-65 Ashland lead.
A dunk by Darvin Ham with 14 seconds to go made it 68-67, Ashland. Turson then made one of two free throws for a 69-67 lead. The Timberwolves had the last shot of the game and that was an errant three-point attempt by guard Andrew Vandierendonck. Vandierendonck had 12 points in the game but was 0-for-5 from three-point range. As a team, NU went 2-for-18 beyond the three-point stripe (11.1 percent).
NU got 19 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots from 6-7 center Will Bowles. Those numbers aren't surprising - Bowles entered this game second in the conference in field goal percentage and sixth in rebounding. Bowles made 8-of-12 shots from the floor. Because Yates was limited to 27 minutes with foul trouble (he ended the game with three fouls), NU was able to get some good looks inside. The Timberwolves outscored the Eagles in the key, 32-20.
The Eagles enjoyed their best game of the season at the free throw line, making 16-of-19 attempts (84.2 percent). Thanks in large part to Turson, the Eagles also got quality minute from their bench, a point head coach John Ellenwood has been talking about for weeks. In this game, the AU reserves outscored the NU bench, 22-13.
Ashland returns to the court on Wednesday (Dec. 19, 5:30 p.m.) for a GLIAC game against Lake Superior State.
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