Ashland University's men's basketball team won a second consecutive game after trailing at halftime to begin the 2023-24 season, as the Eagles on Friday (Nov. 17) night topped Purdue Northwest, 87-74, at Cedarville's Don Callan Classic.
The Eagles, receiving votes in the preseason National Association of Baseball Coaches (NABC) poll, are 2-0 on the young season, and the Pride is 2-2. The victory gives Ashland head coach
John Ellenwood 245 guiding the Eagles – one short of tying
Roger Lyons (246) for the all-time program lead.
Sophomore point guard
Simon Wheeler led all scorers with a career-high 28 points, and added five rebounds, five assists and two steals in the victory.
The Pride ran out to a 10-2 lead in the first three-plus minutes, forcing an Eagle timeout. Purdue Northwest led 17-8 before Ashland scored six points in a row to get close. The Eagles kept coming, getting to within a point at 22-21 on redshirt freshman wing
Carter Valentine's first two collegiate points.
A 3-point field goal from Wheeler put Ashland up for the first time at 26-25, then grad forward
Javin Etzler's triple gave the Eagles a one-point advantage again at 34-33. At halftime, the ebbs and flows of the first 20 minutes resulted in a 41-38 Purdue Northwest advantage – as Wheeler paced AU with 14 points.
Another Wheeler layup put Ashland ahead 44-43 early in the second half, then another layup from senior center
Victor Searls gave AU its largest lead to that point at 46-43. Back and forth the Eagles and Pride continued to go, but by the time Wheeler made two free throws, Ashland had a 64-57 lead.
A 6-0 Purdue Northwest spurt cut the Eagle lead to a single point at 64-63, and Ashland took a timeout at the 6:25 mark of the second half. The Pride tied the game at 66, but 14 straight Eagle points – 10 on free throws – put them up 80-66 inside of two minutes remaining.
POST-GAME NUGGETS
- Wheeler was joined in double-digit scoring by Searls (17 points, eight rebounds) and Etzler (11 points, four rebounds).
- Fifth-year guard Brandon Haraway posted six points, seven rebounds and four assists, and became the sixth player in program history with 1,600 career points (1,604).
- The Eagles outscored the Pride 49-33 in the second half, shooting 65.0 percent from the floor and making 22-of-25 free throws in the process.
- In all, Ashland made 51.9 percent from the field and 78.1 percent from the charity stripe.
- There were 13 lead changes and six tie scores on Friday night.
- The Eagles are 8-1 all-time against the Pride.
UP NEXT
Ashland will play in Cedarville again on Saturday (Nov. 18) at 2 p.m. vs. Southwest Baptist.
