It didn't take long for Ashland University's men's basketball team to turn what would have been a disappointing loss into perhaps the most memorable win of the 2021-22 season to date.
On Saturday (Jan. 8) afternoon at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium, the Eagles scored the last four points of regulation in the last thirty seconds of regulation, then outscored Kentucky Wesleyan 13-2 in overtime for a 74-63 Great Midwest Athletic Conference home decision.
"Our defense is what we hang our hat on, and we did a great job defensively for the most part in that game," said Ashland head coach
John Ellenwood. "They're a good team. Honestly, they probably deserved to win that game. We were not finishing well today."
Ashland is 7-5 overall and 4-2 in the Great Midwest, and now is in a five-way logjam of teams all within a game of first place atop the league standings. The Panthers are 9-7, 4-5.
The Eagles are 4-0 at home this season, and have won six straight at The Kates going back to the end of the 2020-21 campaign.
WHAT HAPPENED
- A 3-point field goal from junior guard Ethan Conley tied the game early at 9, but the Panthers led 16-11 with 11:46 left in the opening half. Ashland had the answer in the form of a 7-0 run, the last six of those points coming on back-to-back triples from senior forward Derek Koch.
- With the score tied at 18, the Eagles went on to nine in a row – all on treys – to go up 27-18. Ashland took a double-digit lead for the first time at 32-22, then again at 38-27 on a triple from senior guard Bo Furcron.
- At the half, the Eagles took that 11-point lead to the locker room, thanks in large part to 9-of-19 shooting from beyond the arc, and nine assists on 13 made field goals.
- Kentucky Wesleyan chipped away at its second-half deficit, working the score to 48-43 before junior forward Evan Bainbridge's triple stopped the momentum. The Panthers got the game back to four points at 53-49 with 8:43 remaining, forcing an Eagle timeout.
- At the 6:48 mark, a Panther trey cut the AU lead to a single point at 55-54. No one would score again until the 3:34 mark, when a KWC layup put the Panthers ahead, 56-55, but senior forward Aaron Thompson's off-balance layup as the shot clock hit zero gave Ashland the lead again at 57-56.
- Kentucky Wesleyan kept the back-and-forth going with a triple, then went up by four points at 61-57 on a layup. A Panther turnover, forced by Thompson, became a Furcron layup with 23.1 ticks to go, but the Eagles needed one more stop.
- And a stop the Eagles got on a travel with 18.2 seconds left in regulation. Thompson's contested layup with 12 seconds left tied the game and sent it to overtime.
- In the extra period, Ashland scored the first four points, then Furcron's triple just outside of a minute left put AU on top, 68-63. Junior guard Brandon Haraway iced the victory with two free throws for a 70-63 advantage.
- "Once we got into overtime, our guys got the juice that they needed," said Ellenwood. "I'm very proud of our guys to get there. That's not easy to do. Our guys were very focused in that last 30 seconds.
THE WRAP-UP
- Furcron scored a career-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor, Koch added 15 points, and Thompson finished with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks and five steals.
- "I feel really good," Furcron said. "God is good, great. I'm just getting more comfortable. There's a certain standard here at Ashland. Everybody can't fit it. I've got great teammates. It's coming together, and I love it."
- Said Thompson, "We're playing with 15 other guys who never think we're down and out. I'm just super-proud of the guys, super-proud of the team to pull it out."
- "These second-semester seniors are the best things you can have on a team," Ellenwood said. "I love coaching these guys, too. We know we're on limited time. This is a special team, and we want to make it a special year."
UP NEXT
Ashland will go back on the road on Thursday (Jan. 13) at 7:30 p.m. to take on No. 20 Hillsdale (10-3, 5-2).
AU
MBKB/DS
