Box Score The Ashland University men's basketball team turned an 18-point deficit into a tie game with less than three minutes to play, but No. 18 Grand Valley State made just enough plays down the stretch to pull out a 69-63 win on Thursday (Jan. 9) night at Kates Gymnasium.
The Eagles (7-7, 0-6 GLIAC) trailed by 18 points late in the first half, but a 3-pointer by freshman guard Ethan Conley just before the buzzer cut the deficit to 36-22 going into the break.
Ashland still trailed, 46-35, with 13:53 to play in the game, but went on a 10-0 run with 3-pointers coming from redshirt-junior guard Aaron Thompson and senior guard Rodrick Caldwell to make it a 46-45 game.
Grand Valley State (12-2, 5-1 GLIAC) pushed its lead back to five points with two straight baskets.
The Eagles then went on a mini 7-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from junior forward Derek Koch, to tie the game at 54 with 5:24 to play. After Jeremiah Ferguson gave the lead back to the Lakers, senior center Drew Noble drew a foul and sank both free throws to tie it again.
"I thought we got better penetration (in the second half)," said AU head coach John Ellenwood. "Our guys locked down a little better, but they made shots. They're really good. I was proud of our effort and being more physical in the second half."
It was Ferguson, though, who continued the damage, scoring the next seven points of the game to take a 63-56 lead. He scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half after missing much of the first period with foul trouble.
Ashland could only get the margin down to four points after that – on a Caldwell triple with 46 seconds left. Ferguson sank three of his next four free throws to help ice the game.
"We had the fight, but there were a few plays they made that we didn't and that's how they won the game," said Caldwell, who led the Eagles with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. "We need to keep executing, playing hard and playing together. Mistakes are going to happen. Nobody plays a perfect game, but if we stay together and keep playing we'll come up with a victory."
Noble chipped in 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Koch and freshman guard Brandon Haraway each had 11 points.
Ferguson's 19 points led all scorers. Ben Lubitz scored 13 of his 14 points in the first half off the GVSU bench. The Eagles limited the GLIAC's fifth-leading scorer Jake Van Tubbergen to 13 points, on 5-for-10 shooting, and seven rebounds.
The Eagles will look to split their GLIAC weekend on Saturday (Jan. 11) at 3 p.m. when they take on Davenport at Kates Gymnasium.
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