Box Score No one at Kates Gymnasium on Thursday (Feb. 11) night was surprised that in order for Ashland University's men's basketball team to earn win No. 20 of the 2015-16 season and a share of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference South Division lead, it had to be done in the final seconds.
Junior forward Wendell Davis scored five of the No. 21-ranked Eagles' seven points in the final minute of a 67-64 victory over the Oilers at home. AU is 20-4 overall and 14-4 in the GLIAC after its seventh consecutive win, while Findlay is 17-6, 14-4, after seeing its 12-game winning streak snapped.
"Another game, another close game, two great teams going at it," said Ashland head coach John Ellenwood. "That game could have gone either way. It was going to come down to a big shot, and we have a lot of guys who hit big shots. It just happened to be Wendell's night tonight, and I'm very proud of him.
"Wendell's great. He's a great player. He's a special player."
Ashland and Findlay are tied for first in the South with four regular-season games to play. Both the Eagles and Oilers trail Saginaw Valley State by two games in the race for the conference's regular-season title.
The Eagles have won at least 20 games for the 13th time in program history, and for the first time since Bill Clinton was President (1999-2000). AU's 39 wins in the last two seasons are the program's most since 1998-99 and 1999-2000 (39), and its .736 winning percentage in consecutive seasons is the highest since 1990-91 and 1991-92 (.797).
AU is 12-4 this season in games decided by eight points or less.
Davis finished the night with a game-high 22 points to go with six rebounds and four assists. He has 1,229 career points, 11 behind Angelo Edwards (1,240) for 14th place in program history. He hit two free throws with 6.8 seconds to go to clinch the victory, and, before that, hit a 3-pointer with 33 ticks to go to put the Eagles up 63-59.
Davis 3-Pointer with 33 Seconds Remaining
"I wanted to take the big shot at the big moment, and live with the results after," Davis said. "The time presented itself, and I was able to knock down a shot, and my guys have faith in me, which is always nice."
Junior guard Boo Osborne scored 15 points, junior point guard Adrian Cook added 14 and sophomore forward Marsalis Hamilton added 10 points and six rebounds. Senior center Michael Hundley blocked six shots to go with six points and six boards.
Ashland's defense kept the Oilers to 45.0-percent shooting from the field and 4-of-22 from the arc.
Findlay claimed a 19-16 lead halfway through the first half before the Eagles went on a 15-2 run to take a 31-21 lead. Ashland had a 40-30 lead going into halftime, and led 42-32 early in the second half before the Oilers started a run of their own, 17-4, to lead 49-46.
The score would be stuck there for roughly two minutes until Cook hit a triple to tie the game at 49.
Davis' jumper at the 7:10 mark of the second half gave Ashland a lead it would not relinquish. Findlay got to within one point twice and two points thrice, but the Eagles had the push-back each time.
The Eagles will conclude a three-game GLIAC homestand with a game against Wayne State (7-14, 7-11) on Saturday (Feb. 13) at 3 p.m. A win against the Warriors would be the program's 1,150th all-time.
"This was the biggest game of the season tonight, and Wayne State's going to be just as big," Ellenwood said.
THE NOTEBOOK: Ashland is 23-5 (.821) in its last 28 home games…The Eagles have made at least six 3-pointers in 19 of 24 games this season…Hundley has blocked 32 shots in the last seven games (4.6 bpg.).
Davis Post-Game Comments
AU
MBKB/DS
