Box Score COLUMBUS, Ohio – Prior to the 2015-16 season, Ashland University's men's basketball program had played host to just one Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament game.
Now, it will be two.
The Eagles, ranked No. 18 in Division II, clinched that GLIAC Tournament home game for Tuesday, March 1 following a 75-68 win at Ohio Dominican. The Eagles improve to 22-4 overall and 16-4 in the conference thanks to their ninth consecutive victory, while the Panthers are 9-17, 6-14.
"Our guys showed some toughness the last five minutes," said Ashland head coach John Ellenwood. "They're a great team. They've gotten a lot better the last two years. It's not an easy place to play."
Ashland will play a conference tournament game at home for the first time since 2006.
"It's huge," said Ellenwood. "I hope Ashland comes out to support. I know they will. Our guys are psyched about it. I think it's going to be a special night."
The Eagles are one game ahead of Findlay for first place in the South Division with two regular-season games to go, as they look for their second straight division title and their first-ever outright. AU also is just one game behind Saginaw Valley State in the race for an overall GLIAC regular-season title, and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
Junior forward Wendell Davis scored a game-high 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field, and added six rebounds and four assists.
"We talked about it at the beginning of the year," Davis said of playing host to a conference tourney game. "It would be a big thing to do it, but we knew the difficulties that would come with it. It's wonderful. It feels great to be a part of history."
Sophomore forward Marsalis Hamilton chipped in with 17 points and a team-high eight boards, while junior guard Boo Osborne posted 14 points, five rebounds and two steals.
Thursday's first half was nip-and-tuck, with very little space between the Eagles and Panthers. ODU led 23-18 before Ashland ran off six straight points. The Eagles led 29-25 going into the final two minutes of the first half, but took a 29-28 advantage into the locker room.
While Ashland shot 41.4 percent from the field in the game's first 20 minutes, its signature defense kept Ohio Dominican to 37.9 percent from the floor.
The first half featured five ties and eight lead changes.
Then came the bad news. At the 17:06 mark of the second half, both of Ashland's centers – senior Michael Hundley and sophomore Teddy Metzen – had three fouls. Then, at the first media timeout of the second half with 15:01 remaining, the Eagles trailed, 41-35.
Fortunes turned around in a big way for Ashland, however, thanks to a 12-0 run to give it a 47-41 lead.
"I thought they came out and kind of punched us in the mouth to start the second half. I thought we did a good job to right that ship," Ellenwood said. "Our guys handled that pretty well."
The Eagles continued to lead, despite the Panthers pushing them on several occasions. Then, with 4:56 to play, an old-fashioned 3-point play allowed ODU to tie the game at 59.
Davis quickly responded with a layup, giving Ashland a lead it would not relinquish. He scored seven points down the stretch.
The victory was Ashland's 13th this season by eight points or less. It also gives the program its most single-season wins since 1990-91 (program-record-tying 26).
Ashland will return to the road on Saturday (Feb. 20) at 3 p.m. at Tiffin (11-16 7-13).
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