The Ashland University men's basketball team got the defensive stops it needed down the stretch, but could not hit the decisive basket as Ferris State held off the Eagles, 69-68, on Saturday (Jan. 9) at Kates Gymnasium.
The teams split their GLIAC opening two-game series after Ashland took a 74-52 decision on Friday.
The Eagles (1-2, 1-1 GLIAC) forced a miss on a short shot clock by Ferris State in the final nine seconds. Sophomore guard
Brandon Haraway collected the rebound and brought it full court and handed off to senior wing
Aaron Thompson after he was cut off on the wing. Thompson's off-balance look clanged off the rim and sent the Bulldogs to the win.
"We got two stops in a row, did the job defensively and we clawed back in," said head coach
John Ellenwoood. "They're a great team, they made their adjustments and it was a one-possession game. That's going to happen a lot in this league."
Neither team scored in the final two minutes of the game as the Eagles forced five straight misses from the visitors.
"We stayed in the game and had our chances," said Ellenwood. "We have to figure out how to win these types of games."
The Bulldogs (2-3, 1-1 GLIAC) scored the first six points of the game and increased their defensive intensity to hold a 22-10 lead nearly 14 minutes into the game.
The Eagles finished the half on a 19-5 run, getting eight points from Thompson in that stretch. He led the Eagles with 18 points and played all but one minute of the game.
The second half saw six tie scored and four lead changes as the teams traded blows in what turned into a classic physical GLIAC affair.
"That's the GLIAC in a nutshell," Ellenwood said. "The back-to-backs are going to be tough, especially against really good teams. It's going to be the same thing next week against Grand Valley."
Ashland took its final lead of the game, 50-48 with 10:39 to play on a 3-pointer by senior guard
Bo Furcron, who scored all 14 of his points in the second half. Ferris State's Walt Kelser answered with a game-tying jumper on the next possession. He scored 19 of his game-high 22 points in the second half.
"Kelser's just a great player," said Ellenwood. "It came down to him making some great shots. We had to make some adjustments. We stopped that as the game went on and I was proud of our guys for figuring that out."
The Eagles were 13-for-16 from the field and hit all five of their 3-pointers in the second half until the final stretch when they missed their last three shots.
Freshman guard
Hunter Shedenhelm and senior forward
Derek Koch had 12 points apiece and Shedenhelm hit all four of his 3-point tries.
The Eagles shot 54 percent (22-for-41) from the field and went 9-for-16 (56 percent) from 3-point range. The Bulldogs shot 49 percent (24-for-49) from the floor.
Ashland will continue its makeshift four-game homestand next weekend (Jan. 15-16) with a pair of 4 p.m. games against Grand Valley State.
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.
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