No. RV Eagle Men Earn Tough Home Win Over Warriors

It was Game No. 1, and it wasn't pretty, but it was a win.
 
On Friday (Nov. 12) afternoon at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium, the No. RV Ashland University men's basketball team pulled away at the end and took a 59-50 decision from former conference rival Wayne State.
 
It was the season-opener for both teams.
 
"It's a victory against a great team," said Ashland head coach John Ellenwood. "I was very happy that we got a tough opponent to figure out a lot of things. Both these teams know each other very well. If there's a team that can guard us a lot 1-on-1 and matches up a lot with us personnel-wise, it's Wayne State.
 
"It's not a great team you want to see early in the year, but they showed us a lot of things we have to get better at."
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• Not surprisingly, the Eagles were led by a couple of fifth-year seniors on Friday afternoon. Forward Derek Koch led Eagle scorers with 16 points, while forward Aaron Thompson didn't waste any time in getting his first double-double of the new season at 12 points and 13 rebounds.
• "Everyone put me in a great spot to succeed and score," said Koch. "It was just nice to get down there and do what we do."
• Thompson also pilfered five steals, and was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
• "I take a lot of pride in it, getting better at it over the years," Thompson said of his work at the charity stripe. "We shoot free throws every day. When it comes down to games like these, free throws mean a lot."
• Junior guard Brandon Haraway and senior guard Bo Furcron each added 10 points in the victory.
• While the Eagles shot just 35.2 percent from the field and 19.2 percent from 3-point range, AU's 16-for-20 effort from the free-throw line was a key in the victory.
• "Aaron Thompson 8-for-8, that's great," Ellenwood noted.
• Defensively, Ashland kept the Warriors to 36.4 percent from the field and 1-of-16 from beyond the arc, and turned WSU over 16 times, resulting in 18 points.
• "I'm very happy with our defensive effort," said Ellenwood. "We held them to great percentages and a low score. It was a slugfest."

 
UP NEXT
Ashland will go on the road for the first time in the 2021-22 regular season to take on Gannon (first game) on Monday (Nov. 15) at 7 p.m.