Saturday, Mar. 2, 2013, 1 p.m.
Osborne Family Athletic and Wellness Center Arena, Painesville, Ohio
Ashland (12-12/10-11 GLIAC) at Lake Erie (8-17/5-16 GLIAC)
(This week's game will be broadcast live on WNCO-AM 1340 with Matt Brubaker at the microphone.)
Setting The Scene
The Eagles enter the final game of the regular season still in the hunt for a berth in the GLIAC Tournament. AU needs to win this Saturday and then see what happens with two other games – the Wayne State at Lake Superior State contest and the Saginaw Valley State at Northwood matchup. AU, LSSU and Saginaw Valley State are all 10-11 in the conference. The GLIAC playoffs will begin on Wednesday, Mar. 6.
Ashland has a three-game winning streak and has won seven of its last eight games. Lake Erie is coming off a 60-59 victory against Ohio Dominican. This will be the second meeting of the season between these teams. AU won at Kates Gymnasium on Feb. 2, 81-61. Ashland is fifth in the GLIAC South Division and LEC is seventh in the division.
About the Eagles
Last week, the Eagles won at home against Ohio Dominican, 84-71 (Feb. 21) and at Tiffin, 80-72 (Feb. 23)…after losing their first nine road games this season, the Eagles have won two consecutive road contests…Ashland has scored 80+ points in each of the last two games and has reached the 80-point plateau five times this season. AU is 5-0 in those games…the Eagles were out-rebounded twice last week and have lost the battle of the boards in three of the last four games…Ashland had 16 three-pointers last week and shot 42.1 percent from three-point distance…the Eagles blocked five shots at Tiffin – that's their highest rejection total since they had six against Malone (Feb. 9)…Ashland had 10 steals in last week's game against ODU. The only time this season the Eagles had more steals was when they had 11 in the season opener against Oberlin (Nov. 13)…the Eagles have canned at least 19 free throws in each of the last three games. Ashland is fourth in the conference in free throws made per game (15.1) and third in free throw attempts per game (21.6)…AU is second in the GLIAC in three-point field goal percentage (31.9) and fifth in opponent field goal percentage (41.8)…the Eagles are scoring 75.4 ppg. in seven February games. That's their best month, offensively, of the season…AU is averaging 71.4 ppg., at home and 64.0 ppg., on the road…AU tied its season, single-game high for triples (nine) at Tiffin. AU has had nine treys in a game five times this season…in its 12 wins, Ashland has averaged 14.3 apg. In the 12 losses, that figure dips to 8.9 apg…AU is 10-3 at home this season…a year ago, Ashland was 3-8 away from home, 2-7 in GLIAC road games. In 2011-12, the Eagles were 12-2 at home with the losses coming to Hillsdale and Wayne State…AU is 8-5 this season against GLIAC South Division foes. Last season the Eagles went 6-6 in the division…Ashland is 3-1 in games decided by three points or less…AU is 4-1 in February. A year ago, the Eagles went 4-4 in February…AU hasn't had a game decided by five points or less since beating Tiffin, 67-64 on Jan. 26. The last seven games have had a spread of at least eight points.
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 is second in the GLIAC in rebounding (9.1 rpg.), sixth in field goal percentage (56.4), seventh in scoring (16.8 ppg.) and eighth in blocked shots per game (1.1). In two games last week Yates averaged 20.5 ppg., 8.0 rpg., and shot 72.7 percent (16-of-22) from the floor. Yates is 22nd in the country in double-doubles (10) and 25th in rebounds per game.
The Cincinnati native has scored 20 or more points in a game seven times this season. He has two 30+ point efforts. The last of those came last week against Ohio Dominican when he had 30 points. Yates scored a career-high 32 points against Walsh on Feb. 7. His previous high was 31 points against Point Park (Nov. 23, 2011).
Yates has been named the GLIAC South Division player of the week once this season.
In his career, the 6-6, 245-pound Yates has scored 1,550 points and secured 814 rebounds. Yates is second in career rebounds at AU. The only player Yates trails is Larry Aulger (1,188). The senior is sixth in career points. Fifth place belongs to Mike Kaido with 1,556 points.
Junior forward Will Evans (Lexington, Ky./Christian Academy) is second on the team in scoring (9.4 ppg.) and rebounding (5.9 rpg.). Evans is 15th in the conference in rebounds per game.
Sophomore guard Brook Turson (Plymouth, Ohio/Columbus State) is third on the team in scoring (8.8) and rebounding (4.5 rpg.). In his last four games, Turson is averaging 12.5 ppg. Last week, Turson shot 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from the field and 55.6 percent (9-of-14) on three-pointers. Turson is 10th in the conference in three-point field goal percentage (43.0).
Turson scored a career-high 27 points against Lake Erie (Feb. 2). In that game he had eight three-point field goals, one shy of the school, single-game record (9 by Rob Wininger vs. Mercyhurst, 1997).
DaWuan Thomas (Dayton, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison) is averaging 7.2 ppg. Thomas, a 6-1, 175-pound redshirt sophomore guard, has a team-leading 29 steals. He's 16th in the GLIAC in steals per game (1.2).
Sophomore guard Cole Krizancic (Mentor, Ohio) has a team-high 35 triples. He's shooting 42.2 percent (35-of-83) on three-point attempts. In two games last week the sophomore averaged 11.0 ppg., and had four steals.
Senior guard David Harris (Cincinnati, Ohio/Florida) is the team leader in assists (54/2.3 apg.).
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 53-52. His career record as a college head coach is 83-100. Ellenwood came to AU from Thomas More, where he was the head coach for three years
About the Storm (8-17/5-16)
This will the final game of the year for LEC, the Storm is not in contention for a GLIAC postseason berth. Lake Erie defeated Ohio Dominican, 60-59 in its last game. LEC is 2-4 in its last six games. The win against ODU snapped a four-game losing streak. At home, the Storm is 5-7.
Riley Thomas, a 5-10, 165-pound junior guard, is averaging a team-high 12.7 ppg. Rich Austin, a 6-7, 215-pound junior forward, is averaging 10.3 ppg., and a team-high 5.8 rpg. Garrick Sims, a 6-8, 230-pound junior center, averages 4.8 rpg. Sims had his first double-double of the season – 12 points and 11 rebounds – against Ohio Dominican.
Tom Parker, a 6-0, 175-pound junior guard, is sixth in the GLIAC in steals per game (1.8). As a team, LEC is second in the GLIAC in steals per game (9.0).
Cliff Hunt is in his eighth season as Lake Erie's head coach.
Eagles-Storm
AU has a 15-1 lead in the all-time series. Lake Erie's only victory over Ashland came in Painesville in the final game of last season, 84-76. Austin had 16 points and seven rebounds in that game and Thomas had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. Yates led the Eagles with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
In the first meeting this season, Ashland had a 38-31 halftime lead and outscored the Storm, 43-30 in the second half. Over the final 20 minutes, the Eagles shot 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from the floor and 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) three-point distance. For the game, the Eagles shot 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the field.
AU had a 17-9 edge in points off of turnovers. LEC had 12 turnovers and Ashland gave the ball away 10 times.
Turson led the Eagles with 27 points. He was 8-for-10 on three-point tries. That three-point total was one off the school record. Yates had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Evans had 11 points and Thomas scored 10 points.
LEC was led by Thomas, who had 14 points. Guard Trey Howard scored 11 points and had three steals and Sims contributed 10 points.
Up Next
Everything hinges on what happens this weekend.
AU
MBB/ALK
