HOME FOR THE LAST FIVE: The Ashland University men's basketball team wrapped up its road schedule last week and now has the fortune of playing its final five regular season games at Kates Gymnasium. The five-game finish starts with three games this week starting Tuesday with Wayne State's return trip to Ohio, followed by a Friday-Saturday series with Northwood. Tuesday's tip-off is set for 4 p.m., but Friday and Saturday's start times have been moved to 1 p.m. to accommodate the start of GLIAC volleyball season this week as the Eagles host Davenport.
HOME COOKING: The Eagles have won more than three-quarters of their games at Kates Gymnasium since head coach John Ellenwood took over the program in 2009. They have not lost more than five games at home in a season since then, with their best mark coming in 2018-19 when they were 16-3.
GLIAC TOURNAMENT NEWS: Late last week, the GLIAC announced the format and schedule for the conference tournament this season. All 12 teams will qualify for the postseason with Seeds 5-8 hosting Seeds 9-12 in the first round on Tuesday, March 2 on campus sites. Seeds 1-4 will receive a bye in the first round. The remaining eight teams after the first round will head to Purdue Northwest in Hammond, Ind. to play the rest of the tournament with the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 4, the semifinals on Friday, March 5, and the championship game on Sunday, March 7.
LAST LOOK AT LAST WEEK: After dropping an 84-80 decision at Purdue Northwest on Friday, the Eagles bounced back with a 91-82 win over the Pride on Saturday in Hammond. The Eagles posted their third-highest and top scoring outputs of the season, respectively, in the two games.
DYNAMITE HARAWAY: Sophomore guard Brandon Haraway was electric in the two games last week, averaging 26 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals per game while committing just three turnovers in 78 minutes. He scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half and hit four 3-pointers on Friday. On Saturday, he scored a career-high 29 points and gathered seven rebounds in the win. He leads the Eagles in scoring at 15.7 points per game.
A.T.'s MONSTER GAME: Senior wing Aaron Thompson joined Haraway in lighting up the scoreboard in Saturday's win as he matched a career high with 27 points to go with 13 rebounds and a career-best six steals. He had 18 points (7-for-9) and eight rebounds in the second half alone. Thompson is approaching the 1,000-point plateau and is now sitting at 994 in his career. He would be the 29th player in program history to reach the mark. He also moved into a tie for third on AU's all-time rebounding list.
DK's DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Senior forward Derek Koch scored a season-high 20 points and matched a career high with 14 rebounds in the Eagles' defeat on Friday. In his last five games, Koch is averaging 15.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 63 percent (31-for-49) from the floor and 62 percent (13-for-21) from 3-point range. Between his first year at Bowling Green, and now in his third season as an Eagle, Koch has racked up 869 career points.
SERIES VS. WARRIORS: The Eagles are 28-33 all-time against Wayne State, but Ashland has won nine of the last 13 meetings between the teams. Wayne State claimed a 58-50 win in Detroit on Jan. 26. The Warriors won the Kates Gymnasium contest last season, 69-64.
SERIES VS. TIMBERWOLVES: The Eagles have a 21-12 all-time edge over Northwood, having won six of the last eight contests against the Timberwolves. Ashland has won three straight against Northwood at Kates Gymnasium. NU's last win in Ashland came Jan. 2, 2015.
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