For the full PDF version of the Week 8 game notes, go to http://goashlandeagles.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/files/WK8MBKB.pdf.
Opening Tip
Ashland University's men's basketball team will look to stay atop the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's South Division when it returns to Kates Gymnasium in Week 8 for the first two games of a three-game homestand.
The Eagles, ranked No. 21 in Division II and sporting a record of 10-2 overall and 4-2 in the GLIAC, will take on Northern Michigan (4-6, 2-4) on Thursday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. and Michigan Tech (4-6, 3-3) on Saturday, Jan. 9 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 weekend split in Michigan in Week 7, taking a 91-74 decision at Northwood on Jan. 2 and losing 82-76 at nationally-ranked Lake Superior State on Jan. 3.
The Eagles, who won a share of the South Division title for the first time in 2014-15, are one game ahead of both Findlay and Walsh for the South lead through six conference games in 2015-16.
Looking Back To Week Seven
Ashland used numerous career-high efforts to win at the Timberwolves. Junior guard Boo Osborne posted college bests with 23 points and 11 rebounds in his first AU double-double, while senior center Michael Hundley also had collegiate single-game bests in both points (12) and rebounds (eight).
Sophomore forward Marsalis Hamilton added 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, while junior Wendell Davis posted 15 points, eight boards and five assists.
The 91 points were a season best, and AU's best single-game showing since a 99-68 home win against Ohio Mid-Western on Dec. 20, 2014.
Ashland shot a season-high 57.6 percent from the field, including a scorching 65.4 percent in the second half. The Eagles also turned the ball over a season-low five times.
One day after setting a new career-high, Osborne improved on that at the Lakers with 27 points. It was the second straight day with five 3-point field goals for Osborne, who had hit 14 triples in the season's first 10 games and went past the 500-career-point plateau during the weekend (527).
Davis had 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds against the Lakers for his 13th career double-double, while freshman guard Nick Bapst came off the bench for 10 points.
"It was a good road trip," said Ashland head coach John Ellenwood. "Any time you can split on the road with two great teams, I'm pretty happy with that. I was proud of our effort."
Ashland-Northern Michigan
The Eagles lead the all-time series over the Wildcats by a 13-9 margin.
Last season in Marquette, Mich., Ashland topped Northern Michigan, 65-52. It was AU's first road win against NMU since Feb. 4, 2010, and it was an offensively-balanced one. Forward Jett Speelman paced Ashland with 15 points off the bench, and Davis was next with 12 points to go with seven rebounds. Guard Cole Krizancic and Hamilton each added 11 points.
Guard DaWuan Thomas had team-highs in both rebounds (eight) and assists (four).
Ashland out-rebounded Northern Michigan, 38-22. The Eagles' defensive effort included yielding just 52 points on 43.1-percent shooting from the field and 21.4-percent shooting from the 3-point line.
In 2013-14, AU took a 72-56 decision from the Wildcats at home. Forward Paul Honigford scored 20 points and the Eagles shot 55.1 percent (27-of-49) from the floor.
Osborne had 11 points, all in the second half. Thomas had 13 points and guard Adrian Cook scored 11 points.
Ashland-Michigan Tech
The Huskies have a 16-9 lead over the Eagles in the all-time series.
In 2014-15 in Houghton, Mich., Ashland lost 79-69 to Tech. Davis paced the Eagles with 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field, and Davis and Hundley each had a team-high five rebounds. Hamilton had 12 points off the bench, while guard Brook Turson added 11 points.
Ashland turned the ball over just seven times.
In 2013-14 at Kates Gymnasium, the Eagles took a 71-70 decision from the Huskies. On the game's final play, forward Will Evans blocked a jumper by Ben Stelzer from just inside the free-throw line with two seconds left to preserve the victory.
Evans had 11 points and eight rebounds. Thomas finished with 20 points, and Osborne had 10 points, seven in the second half. Turson had nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Ashland forced 11 turnovers, leading to 17 points. At the free-throw line, the Eagles made 17-of-22 attempts (77.3 percent).
Osborne Earns First GLIAC South Award
Osborne had the best weekend of his collegiate career on the Eagles' most recent road trip. For that, he has been named the GLIAC South Division Player of the Week for Week 7 of the 2015-16 season.
For the weekend, Osborne averaged 25.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, while shooting 61.5 percent from the field, 62.5 percent from 3-point range and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
"I'm very proud of him," Ellenwood said. "He's the type of player that has a lot of confidence in his abilities, always has. He came back this year in great shape.
"We always knew that he was going to have one of those weekends, and it's great that it was on the road."
Osborne is Ashland's second-leading scorer at 12.4 points per game, while leading the Eagles with 24 3-pointers and 17 steals.
Eagles Finding A Home On The road
After losing three of the last four games away from Kates Gymnasium in 2014-15, Ashland has won five of its first six road/neutral-site games in 2015-16.
The Eagles have reversed their fortunes when leaving Ashland in recent years, having won as many road/neutral-site games in the last one-plus seasons (12) as in the previous four campaigns combined:
|
SEASON
|
ROAD/NEUTRAL-SITE RECORD
|
|
2015-16
|
5-1
|
|
2014-15
|
7-7
|
|
2013-14
|
2-10
|
|
2012-13
|
3-9
|
|
2011-12
|
3-10
|
|
2010-11
|
4-9
|
|
2009-10
|
3-10
|
|
2008-09
|
5-8
|
|
2007-08
|
5-10
|
|
2006-07
|
2-10
|
"I think our focus is great," said Ellenwood. "It's tough to win on the road, but, to me, it's a leadership thing within the team, and we've got great leadership."
Ellenwood Nearing Rarified Air
Ashland head coach John Ellenwood (94) is six victories away from joining Roger Lyons (247) and Bill Musselman (129) as the only Eagle head coaches with at least 100 wins.
Ellenwood has guided AU to a 31-14 (.689) record in its last 45 games.
The Davis Watch Continues
Davis comes into this three-game homestand at 1,033 career points and in 24th place on the program's all-time scoring list.
He will have the opportunity to pass a few names on that list at home, sitting just four points behind No. 23 Kevin Wilson (1,037), 27 points behind No. 22 Jack Purtell (1,060) and 28 points behind No. 21 Chris Royer (1,061).
Hundley Finishing AU Career Strong
Ashland has been a successful team in Hundley's 41 career starts, as the Eagles have gone 28-13 (.683).
Hundley is starting to put up bigger individual numbers of late, including his career-high points and rebounds at the Timberwolves. In the last five games, he is averaging 5.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game while hitting 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) from the field.
"Mike's always been a great defensive player," Ellenwood said. "I just keep talking to him about how second-semester seniors are the most valuable things in basketball in a college program. He's definitely a second-semester senior that's starting to step up."
The post combination of Hundley and sophomore Teddy Metzen is averaging 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game during 2015-16, and those numbers have begun to increase in recent weeks:
|
DATE
|
OPPONENT
|
TOTAL PTS.
|
TOTAL REB.
|
|
12/9/15
|
HILLSDALE
|
12
|
4
|
|
12/12/15
|
SAGINAW VALLEY ST.
|
2
|
4
|
|
12/20/15
|
SHAWNEE STATE
|
13
|
4
|
|
1/2/16
|
at Northwood
|
16
|
9
|
|
1/3/16
|
at Lake Superior State
|
14
|
8
|
NCAA Rankings
Through Jan. 4, the Eagles are ranked fourth in Division II in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (26.8) and seventh in scoring defense (63.9 ppg.).
GLIAC Rankings
Ashland leads the conference in scoring defense and 3-point field-goal percentage defense, and is third in field-goal percentage (47.9), 3-point field-goal percentage (38.8) and field-goal percentage defense (40.3).
Davis paces the GLIAC in 3-point field-goal percentage (53.6), free throws made (65) and free throws attempted (77), and is third in scoring at 20.2 points per game.
Eagle Nuggets
- Bapst has scored double-digit points off the bench five times in 2015-16, and is shooting 16-for-30 (53.3 percent) from 3-point range in the last eight games.
- Ashland has made at least 40 percent from the 3-point arc in five consecutive games after doing so once in the first seven contests.
- Cook has dished out 15 assists in the last three games after handing out 17 in the first nine.
AU
MBKB/DS
