CANTON, Ohio – There's a first time for everything.
For Ashland University's men's basketball team on Saturday (Feb. 19) at Malone, it became the first team to beat the Pioneers on their home floor in 2021-22, 81-71. The Eagles are 17-8 overall and 13-5 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, while the Pioneers are 17-7, 12-5.
"We beat a great team on their floor," said Ashland head coach
John Ellenwood. "I thought it was a hard-fought victory. I'm very proud of our guys' effort on both ends. They're a tough team. It's a team you don't want to see again.
"Our guys played their hearts out."
Heading into the final week of the regular season, Ashland is tied for second place in the league standings with Hillsdale, one game behind Walsh.
"These games are tough," Ellenwood said. "This is a tough league. We've got to be the toughest team going into the tournament."
WHAT HAPPENED
- A strong start from 3-point range (three makes in the first five attempts) put Ashland ahead 13-8 at the first media timeout of the game. Back-to-back Pioneer triples gave them the lead at 14-13, but a 7-0 spurt swung the momentum back to the Eagles.
- That momentum didn't stop there, however. By the time Ashland boasted a 28-17 lead, the run was 15-3. The Eagles led 35-20 before the Pioneers ran off seven points in a row.
- At the break, Ashland led 43-30, with the major factors being a 9-for-15 effort from the arc, 10 assists on 16 made field goals, and four turnovers. The majority of the Eagles' offense in the first 20 minutes came from junior guard Brandon Haraway (14 points), senior forward Derek Koch (14) and senior guard Bo Furcron (11).
- Ashland didn't let up to start the second half, either. Back-to-back 3s from sophomore guard Tre Baumgardner put the Eagles ahead 53-34, but Malone had a 7-0 answer prior to the first media timeout of the half.
- The Pioneers kept chipping away at their deficit, working the score to 62-52 halfway through the second half, then 65-57 with nine minutes to go, and then 65-59 just outside of the eight-minute mark.
- Senior forward Aaron Thompson stopped the Malone momentum with a back-down layup, then he did it again with a driving layup for a 69-59 AU lead with 6:20 to play.
- Malone kept coming, and two free throws out of the last media timeout made it a 69-65 Eagle advantage. Junior guard Ethan Conley scored AU's first bench points of the game, a trey, to put the team up 74-67, then a pair of free throws made the lead nine points going into the final minute.
- "Ethan has hit some big shots for us this year," Ellenwood noted. "He's had some big threes for us lately."
THE WRAP-UP
- All five Eagle starters scored in double figures – Haraway (20 points), Koch (17), Furcron (16), Thompson (12) and Baumgardner (11). Koch and Thompson each had nine rebounds in the victory.
- Ashland shot 48.3 percent from the field, dishing out 16 assists in 28 made field goals. The Eagles turned the ball over just nine times.
UP NEXT
Ashland will begin the last week of the regular season on Thursday (Feb. 24) at 7:30 p.m. at Findlay.
"It's a great feeling when this time of the year comes around and you are in the hunt for something special," Ellenwood said. "Our guys know that. We still aren't playing our best basketball, so I think that's the most exciting thing."
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