Box Score There was a cheer for Ashland University's men's basketball team following its 67-58 home win over Grand Valley State on Tuesday (March 1) night in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal.
There was another roar for the No. 10-ranked Eagles after Walsh's 91-85 win on Tuesday night at top-seeded Saginaw Valley State – meaning Ashland will get to host the GLIAC Tournament Final Four for the first time on Saturday (March 5) and Sunday (March 6).
"It's a great year," said Ashland head coach John Ellenwood. "It's a fairy tale year, and we're going to keep living it a little bit longer. Our guys played very well tonight. I'm very proud of them. They executed the game plan.
"Grand Valley is a great team. They are an 18-win team. They're as good as any team in our league. For a first-round matchup, that is not an easy draw, and our guys handled it about as good as we could."
The Lakers are 18-11.
Ashland, now 25-4, will go into the GLIAC tourney semifinals on a 12-game winning streak, and will play host to Ferris State (20-9) in one semifinal on Saturday. The other semi will pit Hillsdale (18-9) vs. Walsh (15-12).
Times of the semifinal games have yet to be determined.
The Eagles are one win away from tying the program record for single-season victories (26), set in 1968-69 and tied in 1990-91. In a season in which AU has won its first-ever outright GLIAC South Division title and its first-ever share of a conference regular-season championship, the program can add another first – conference tournament Final Four host.
"It's huge," Ellenwood said of hosting the Final Four. "It's beyond anything I expected this year."
Junior point guard Adrian Cook paced the offense with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, as well as six assists.
"I felt good out there. I take pride in creating for my teammates and myself, so I'm glad I was able to do that," Cook said.
Senior center Michael Hundley more than paced the defense, setting a new program record by becoming the first player in Ashland history to block 10 shots in a game.
"Once I get in a rhythm, I feel like I can block anything," Hundley said. "We talk defense every day as a team, and we're just a defense-oriented team."
Michael Hundley Comments
Sophomore forward Marsalis Hamilton had 15 points on 6-of-8 from the field to go with seven rebounds, junior guard Boo Osborne added 13 points and five boards and junior forward Wendell Davis added his 17th career double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds). Davis has 1,311 career points, 16 behind Chris Keshock (1,327) for 13th place on the program's all-time scoring list.
Ashland turned the ball over just eight times, and forced 16 Laker miscues – turning those into 24 points.
"It's a heck of a number for us all year," Ellenwood said of the Eagles' turnovers. "Taking care of the ball also was a big key."
On defense, the Eagles kept GVSU to 32.8-percent shooting from the floor while blocking 11 shots.
Ashland had a 36-24 halftime lead. The Lakers scored three quick points to start the second half, but the Eagles extended their advantage to 53-35 with 8½ minutes to play, and didn't look back.
THE NOTEBOOK: Tuesday's win was the Eagles' first in GLIAC Tournament play since 2006…Ashland has won 26 of its last 31 (.839) games at Kates Gymnasium, and the five losses in that span are by a total of 16 points.
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