Lake Superior State (4-4/2-3 GLIAC) at Ashland (3-4/2-3 GLIAC)
Wednesday, Dec. 19, 5:30 p.m.
Kates Gymnasium
Setting The Scene
The Eagles are coming off a 69-67 victory over Northwood on Monday. A win against Lake Superior State would even AU's overall record and conference slate. This is the second in a stretch of three consecutive home games. AU is 3-1 at home this season.
Lake Superior State won at Lake Erie on Monday, 67-62.
About the Eagles
Against Northwood, AU shot a season-best 84.2 percent (16-of-19) at the free throw line. That's the first time Ashland has shot better than 80 percent at the stripe this season. The 16 free throws made is the second highest total of the year – AU canned 17 charity tosses at home against Ferris State (Dec. 1)…the Eagles buried nine triples against Northwood. That ties Ashland's season high – AU also had nine treys in the season opener against Oberlin (Nov. 13, 2012)…the Eagles have been outrebounded in each of the last three games. The last time the Eagles won the battle of the boards was against Ferris State, 34-32…the Eagles are 1-1 in games decided by three points or less…the Eagles have blocked six shots in the last two games. AU has 11 rejections on the season…the Eagles are 18th in the nation in turnovers per game (11.8)…Ashland is 3-2 when leading at halftime…the Eagles were 12-2 at home a year ago.
Eagles To Watch
Senior forward Evan Yates (Cincinnati, Ohio/Walnut Hills) was a first team All-GLIAC and all-region choice a year ago and was a second team All-American (Daktronics). He was the first AU men's basketball player to receive All-America laurels in 20 years. Yates has picked up where he left off last season, averaging 17.4 ppg., and 9.3 rpg. Yates is 16th in the nation in rebounds per game and 25th in double-doubles (three). In the GLIAC he's third in rebounds per game, fifth in field goal percentage (.571) and seventh in scoring.
Sophomore guard DaWuan Thomas (Dayton, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison) tied his career high in points (17) against Northwood. That was also a season high for Thomas. Against the 'Wolves, Thomas was 6-for-12 from the floor and 3-of-6 from three-point range. Thomas is third on the team in scoring (8.9 ppg.).
Sophomore guard Brook Turson (Plymouth, Ohio/Columbus State) came off the bench to score a season-high 14 points against Northwood. Turson was 3-for-4 from the field – all of those shots came from three-point range. Turson had five rebounds against NU. In the last two games, Turson has collected 11 boards. This is Turson's first season at AU. He logged 28 minutes on Monday night.
Junior forward Will Evans (Lexington, Ky./Christian Academy) led the Eagles with seven rebounds against Northwood. Evans is second on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg.) and rebounds per game (4.6). Evans has paced the team in rebounds twice this season. He pulled down 11 missed shots against Grand Valley State.
Head Coach John Ellenwood
AU head coach John Ellenwood is in his fourth season at Ashland. A year ago, he guided the Eagles to a 15-12 record, 10-9 in GLIAC play. Ellenwood is a 2000 College of Wooster grad. This past fall, he was inducted into the college's Hall of Fame. At Ashland, Ellenwood is 44-44. His career record as a college head coach is 74-92. Ellenwood came to AU from Thomas More, where he was the head coach for three years.
About the Lakers (4-4/2-3 GLIAC)
LSSU comes to Ashland with a two-game winning streak. Monday at Lake Erie, the Lakers won, 67-62. The Lakers outscored the Storm, 10-5 in the final three minutes to put the game away. Head coach Steve Hettinga is in his sixth season. A year ago LSSU was 11-15, 6-13 in the conference. This year's team was predicted to finish sixth in the GLIAC North Division in the conference preseason poll.
Derek Kinney, a 6-5, 210-pound senior forward, had 19 points and seven rebounds against the Storm. He's averaging 15.9 ppg., and 7.5 rpg. Kinney is 12th in the GLIAC in scoring and ninth in rebounding.
Derek Billings, a 6-2, 185-pound guard, is averaging 16.3 ppg., and 5.1 rpg. Billings is 11th in the GLIAC in scoring. He had 16 points at LEC. Billings was a second team All-GLIAC selection last season when he averaged 17.0 ppg.
Eagles-Lakers
Lake State holds an 11-8 edge in the all-time series. Last season, the teams met in Ashland and the Eagles prevailed in overtime, 78-74. Yates had a team-high 20 points in that game. Guard Ronnie Steward (Columbus, Ohio/Akron) had 17 points and Evans had 16 points and five rebounds. Thomas had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. AU led at halftime, 28-17. The teams were tied, 58-58 at the end of regulation. Billings put in a layup with 10 seconds to play to tie the game. After Steward missed a three-pointer, LSSU's Khalid Reeves misfired on a trey with two seconds left.
In overtime, Ashland outscored the Lakers, 20-16. Thomas has seven points in the extra session. Kyle Hunt led LSSU with 21 points and Kinney had 15 points and six rebounds.
The Lakers won the 2010-11 matchup on their home court, 80-64. Yates had 22 points and nine rebounds in that game. Kinney had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Ashland was outrebounded, 38-26 and was outscored in the paint, 50-26. LSSU led in points off of turnovers, 28-3.
Up Next
The Eagles step out of conference play when they host Ohio Christian on Saturday, Dec. 29 (1 p.m.).
AU
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