Box Score Ashland University's men's basketball team didn't need to be reminded it lost twice to Lake Erie last season.
It took five extra minutes to avenge those losses on Monday (Feb. 1) night in Painesville, Ohio, but the Eagles eventually pulled away for an 87-79 overtime decision over the Storm. AU is 17-4 overall and 11-4 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after its fourth consecutive win, while Lake Erie is 8-13, 5-10.
The Eagles remain one game behind Findlay for first place in the GLIAC South Division, and two games behind Saginaw Valley State for first place in the overall conference standings.
Ashland was paced by junior guards Boo Osborne and Adrian Cook, particularly in overtime. Osborne tied his career high with 27 points while going 15-for-17 from the free-throw line and adding eight rebounds and three steals, and Cook established a new college best with 25 points while collecting seven boards and three assists.
In the extra five minutes, Osborne (eight) and Cook (four) combined for 12 of the Eagles' 15 points.
It was the first time two Eagles have scored at least 20 points in the same game since Feb. 2, 2013, also against the Storm.
Sophomore forward Marsalis Hamilton had 15 points and nine rebounds, and junior forward Wendell Davis added his 16th career double-double (13 points, 10 boards).
Ashland was 29-for-37 (78.4 percent) from the free-throw line, and had a 48-37 rebounding advantage.
The Eagles came out on fire, scoring the game's first 15 points and taking a 24-6 lead with 12:18 left until halftime. The Storm got as close as 37-25 with 3:25 before the break, then Ashland scored seven of the half's final 10 points to take a 44-28 lead into the locker room.
AU extended its advantage to 20 points at 52-32, then Lake Erie scored 13 straight to cut its deficit to seven – and force the Eagles to call a timeout at the 13:24 mark of the second half. By the time the Storm's run ended, it was 20-0 to tie the game at 52 before Cook gave Ashland the lead back with consecutive jump shots.
The Eagles led 58-56 with 8:23 to go, then 64-57 with 6:14 remaining, but the Storm kept the yo-yo score going with five straight points. Ashland once again pushed back, leading by six at 68-62 with 4:12 to play.
Lake Erie cut its deficit to two points once again, at 68-66, then down to one at 70-69 with 81 seconds remaining. After Cook made two free throws, the Storm tied the game at 72 with a trey in the final minute to force overtime.
In the extra period, Ashland led 78-76, then had the game's final run – 9-0 – to put the win away.
AU's 36 victories in the last two seasons are the program's most in back-to-back campaigns since 1998-99 and 1999-2000 (39).
The Eagles will remain on the road to begin the second round of GLIAC South games on Thursday (Feb. 4) at 7:30 p.m. at Walsh (10-9, 8-7).
EAGLE NUGGETS: Davis has 1,176 career points, four behind Lance Kimmel (1,180) for 16th place on Ashland's all-time scoring list…Cook now has 500 career points as an Eagle…Senior center Michael Hundley had four blocks on Monday, and has had multiple blocks in nine of the last 11 games...Ashland is 3-0 in overtime in 2015-16.
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