No. 23 Eagle Men To Face Oilers, Warriors On The Road

For the full PDF version of the Week 10 game notes, go to http://goashlandeagles.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/files/WK10MBKB.pdf.

Opening Tip

Ashland University's men's basketball team is gearing up for another key week in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.

The Eagles, ranked No. 23 in Division II, are 13-3 overall and 7-3 in the GLIAC, and are tied for first place in the South Division with Findlay (10-5, 7-3) - their opponent on the road on Thursday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m. Ashland will finish the week with a game at Wayne State (2-11, 2-8) on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 3 p.m.

WNCO-AM 1340 will have the live call of both games, with Matt Brubaker on play-by-play.

Ashland is coming off a split of the "Canton Split" - a 74-72 home loss to Walsh and a 69-67 win at Malone on a buzzer-beating jump shot by junior forward Wendell Davis.

The Eagles have played five consecutive games decided by six points or less, winning three. They also have played eight games decided by six points or less in all of 2015-16, going 5-3.

Looking Back To Week Nine

The Eagles died by the last-second shot and lived by it in Week 9.

Against Walsh at home, a 3-point field goal by Zac Carter with six seconds to play lifted the Cavaliers over Ashland.

Four Eagles scored in double figures, led by Davis with 17 points. He added nine rebounds and seven assists.

Both sophomore forward Marsalis Hamilton and junior guard Adrian Cook scored 16 points, while junior forward Torin Wetzel came off the bench with 11.

Each team turned the ball over just seven times. Walsh, however, had a 46-37 rebounding advantage, including 16 offensive boards.

At Malone, Davis' long jumper with 0.3 seconds to play gave the Eagles the victory. Davis scored 13 of his 14 points in second half – none bigger than the game-winner.

Hamilton and junior guard Boo Osborne each scored 18 points, while Osborne added a career-high seven steals.

Ashland shot 50 percent from 3-point range, and outrebounded Malone by a slim 34-30 margin. The Eagles finished with 12 offensive boards, which led to 17 second-chance points.

"Two possessions from being 0-2, or two possessions from 2-0," said Ashland head coach John Ellenwood. "It's a fun league, and we're fortunate to be where we're at right now. Walsh played a great game, and we didn't finish it off. We didn't learn that lesson.

"Malone is very talented. They've been in a lot of games. We were fortunate to get that win on the road, and a big moment for Wendell Davis in that game."

Ashland-Findlay

The Oilers have a 58-27 all-time series lead over the Eagles.

Ashland and Findlay split in 2014-15, both winning at home. The game at Kates Gymnasium was an 80-47 Eagles victory - AU's biggest against the Oilers since a 69-25 decision in 1928.

Fourteen of the Eagles' 27 field goals came from beyond the 3-point line, and AU hit 48.3 percent from downtown. The Eagles got balanced scoring in the victory, as six players scored at least eight points.

Forward Jett Speelman came off the bench to pace Ashland with 17 points, including a 4-for-5 effort from 3-point range. Davis, guard Cole Krizancic and forward Paul Honigford each added 11 points, guard DaWuan Thomas scored nine and Osborne added eight.

In Findlay, the Oilers prevailed, 89-78.

Findlay Preview

Ashland-Wayne State

The Eagles trail the Warriors in the all-time series, 29-22.

Last season, Ashland won both meetings. At Kates Gymnasium, the result was a 73-59 victory. Davis turned in team-highs in points (26), rebounds (10) and assists (three) while going 14-for-19 from the free-throw line.

Osborne (11) and Thomas (10) also scored in double figures.

In Detroit, Mich., AU prevailed, 68-67. Davis paced the Eagles, going for 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Guard Brook Turson posted 14 points, Osborne added 11 points and four assists and center Michael Hundley had six points, five blocks and four rebounds.

Ashland kept the Warriors to just 38.6-percent shooting from the field and 38.5-percent shooting from the 3-point line.

Wayne State Preview

Eagles Ranked For Sixth Week In A Row

For the sixth consecutive week, Ashland is ranked in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Top 25 poll, the latest of which was released on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

This marks the first time the program has accomplished the feat in a single season since 1990-91.

Ashland also was ranked No. 17 on Jan. 12, No. 21 on Jan. 5, No. 16 on Dec. 29, No. 22 on Dec. 15 and No. 18 on Dec. 8. This is the 69th week all-time that Ashland has been in the Top 25.

The Eagles are the lone representative in the GLIAC in this week's Top 25 poll.

The Davis Watch Continues

With 1,109 career points, Davis is within reach of three former players on Ashland's all-time scoring list coming into the week - No. 19 Randy Emmons (1,124), No. 18 Dick Steineman (1,128) and No. 17 Brett Bartlett (1,148).

Davis also is 25 rebounds away from becoming the ninth player in program history to collect 1,000 or more career points and 500 or more career boards.

He also had three steals at Malone, his fifth career game with at least three thefts.

Eagles Certainly Battle-Tested So Far

Ashland has had pulses racing in the past five games, both winning and losing in various fashions:

"There's just not going to be an easy game going forward, and our guys know that," Ellenwood said. "The way our team's built, we don't have great depth. We have good depth, and we've built depth. We've done a great job developing our depth. We're not going to be able to fly up and down the court as many possessions as we'd like.

"When you have less possessions, it's going to be a closer game."

Ellenwood Nearing Rarified Air

Ellenwood (97) is three victories away from joining Roger Lyons (247) and Bill Musselman (129) as the only Eagle head coaches with at least 100 wins.

He has guided AU to a 34-15 (.694) record in its last 49 games.

Eagles Hitting From Downtown

Of the 196 3-point field goals made by the Eagles in 2014-15, only 33 of those were by 2015-16 returning players.

Questions about where AU's long-range shooting would come from have been answered through the first 16 games of this season, where the team 3-point field-goal percentage has increased from 33.4 last season to 38.3 so far this winter.

Osborne, who hit 25 triples a year ago, already has a team-high 29. Freshman guard Nick Bapst is hitting 45.3 percent from the arc, which leads all GLIAC bench players and is fourth in the conference overall. Davis is right behind Bapst in the league rankings at 45.0 percent, and junior forward Torin Wetzel is third on the team with 23 triples - while taking 61 of 67 shots this season from behind the line.

"People are going to help off Adrian Cook, and now maybe they won't," said Ellenwood. "Marsalis Hamilton, they were going to help off him, now maybe they're not. You have to have space on the basketball floor. You have to space out the floor. If you don't have guys that can hit outside shots, it's impossible to space the floor and it's easier to play defense against you."

NCAA Rankings

Through Jan. 18, the Eagles are tied for 14th in Division II in scoring defense (65.6 ppg.) and 3-point field-goal percentage defense (29.9).

GLIAC Rankings

Through Jan. 17, Ashland is second in the conference in scoring defense and 3-point field-goal percentage defense.

Davis is first in the league in free throws made (88) and attempted (107), and tied for fourth in scoring (19.9 ppg.), Bapst and Davis are 4-5 in 3-point field-goal percentage and Hundley is fifth in blocks per game (1.4).

Eagle Nuggets

- The Eagles have won at least 13 games in six of Ellenwood's seven seasons. The program's last stretch like that was 2001-02 through 2007-08.

- Ashland has made at least six 3-point field goals in seven straight games.

- The Eagles' 12 steals at Malone were their second-most this season (14 vs. Silver Lake on Nov. 20).

- Ashland has forced at least 15 turnovers seven times in 2015-16.

AU

MBKB/DS