The Ashland University men's basketball team turned in a stalwart defensive performance and was balanced on the offensive end as the Eagles dispatched Ferris State in both teams' GLIAC opener on Friday (Jan. 8) afternoon at Kates Gymnasium.
The game was originally scheduled to be played in Big Rapids, but was moved to Ashland because of restrictive COVID-19 protocols in Michigan.
The Eagles did not mind the change of venue and showed that even in front of empty seats they could turn up the defensive intensity.
Ashland forced Ferris State to shoot just 39 percent fromo the floor and outscored the Bulldogs, 34-26 in the paint. AU also took 19 free throws to FSU's five. The Eagles doubled up Ferris on the glass in the first half, 24-12.
"I thought [the defense] was tough, I thought it was gritty," said head coach
John Ellenwood, who is in his 12
th season at Ashland. "It was the best I've seen us play all year in practice or in a game situation. We did a great job containing their rebounding."
After trailing 20-18 midway through the first half, freshman
Hunter Shedenhelm tied the game with a mid-range jumper and senior guard
Bo Furcron followed with a three-point play to give the Eagles a 23-20 lead. That burst started a 20-4 run to close the half as they held Ferris to 2-for-16 shooting in the last nine minutes of the half.
"We lost our two main scorers from last year so now teams have to figure who our main threats are," Ellenwood said. "Right now it's everybody. Tomorrow it could be different. I'm ok with that as long as our team let's the ball be the best athlete. We'll find the opportunity to score."
Ashland took a 38-24 lead into the break.
"I saw some toughness," said Ellenwood "We had some guys in the game that have been practice squad guys for most of the year. We tell them to be ready.
Brandon Haraway and
Aaron Thompson got in foul trouble and
Luke Metzger gave us some great minutes getting us to halftime."
After halftime, sophomore guard
Brandon Haraway hit a couple jumpers to keep the pressure on the Bulldogs and a 3-pointer by sophomore guard
Ethan Conley gave Ashland a 50-30 lead with 15:41 to play.
Ferris chipped the margin down to 52-43 with eight minutes left, but Shedenhelm sank a 3-pointer off a feed from Conley and the lead never dipped into single digits after that.
Shedenhelm, making his first collegiate start, had a team-leading 16 points and Conley added 15 in 26 minutes off the bench.
"Guys on the bench had to step up and we had to take advantage of it," said Shedenhelm. "We're on campus every day, practicing every day. We live for this. Just to get a game with our teammates and coaches against another team felt great."a
Haraway finished with 11 points and Furcron added 10 points. Senior forward
Derek Koch had eight points, five rebounds and three assists.
"We knew they would up on us a lot harder than normal teams would so we had more of an opportunity to get to the basket on them," Koch said.
Walt Kelser led the Bulldogs with 16 points and Michael Peterson had a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Eagles and Bulldogs will meet again on Saturday (Jan. 9) at 1 p.m. at Kates Gymnasium.
FANS AND SPECTATORS
Based on the current COVID-19 climate, and in order to best protect institutions' ability to compete safely in GLIAC contests, the GLIAC COPC has adopted the COVID-19 Task Force recommendation that events will be held without spectators, bands, mascots, cheer teams and promotional activities. GLIAC administrators will continue to monitor and evaluate the COVID climate, and will make future determinations for fans and spectators at a later date.
AU
MBB/BB
