Box Score If one is an accident and two is trend, then Ashland University's men's basketball team is trending toward giving the home fans many more heart-pounding moments at Kates Gymnasium in 2016.
Two days after needing a comeback and overtime to defeat Northern Michigan, the No. 21-ranked Eagles needed a second-half rally to top Michigan Tech at home, 73-67, on Saturday (Jan. 9) afternoon.
"There's no break in this conference. I say it every time," said Ashland head coach John Ellenwood. "Michigan Tech is a very well-disciplined team, and they're not going to give you anything easy."
AU is 12-2 overall and 6-2 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and continues to lead the South Division, one game ahead of second-place Findlay. The Huskies are 5-7, 4-4.
Trailing 36-30 at the half, Ashland used an 11-2 run to take a 41-38 lead just three minutes into the second. The game continued to go back-and-forth (there were 13 lead changes and nine ties on Saturday), and it was tied at 67 before junior point guard Adrian Cook hit a 3-point field goal with 46 seconds left to give the Eagles a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"He did what he does, and he made a big shot down the stretch," Ellenwood said. "That was a huge game for him."
Cook finished with a career-high 17 points, 15 in the second half.
"I was just more aggressive, honestly," Cook said of his second-half output. "They were focusing on taking Wendell away, just like every team, almost. And they weren't playing off Boo (Osborne), they didn't want him shooting any threes. Luckily, I got going."
Post-Game Comments
Sophomore forward Marsalis Hamilton had a career- and team-high 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, while junior forward Wendell Davis added 18 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for his 15th career double-double and second in three days.
Ashland had a decided 36-23 rebounding advantage, and shot 55.6 percent in the second half from the field en route to 49.1 percent for the game.
The Eagles will conclude their three-game homestand on Thursday (Jan. 14) at 7:30 p.m. against Walsh (6-6, 4-4), in the start of South Division play. It will be Danny Krispinsky Night, a benefit for the AU head women's soccer coach in his fight against cancer, at Kates Gymnasium.
"You always want more, and I hope this team wants more going forward, because we have a special season going right now," Ellenwood said.
EAGLE NUGGETS: Ashland is 6-1 at home in 2015-16, and 19-4 (.826) in its last 23 games at Kates Gymnasium…Davis passed both Jack Purtell and Chris Royer on the Eagles' all-time scoring list with 1,078 career points. He is 16 points behind Lamont Scott for 20th place, and is 39 rebounds away from becoming the ninth 1,000-500 AU men's basketball player.
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