Senior guard
Brandon Haraway is on one of those runs again.
Two years ago, Haraway put Ashland University's men's basketball team on his back en route to a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title and a spot in the NCAA Division II postseason.
On Thursday (Feb. 16) night, Haraway scored 30 points, including the eventual game-winning 3-point field goal in the closing seconds, as the Eagles won 84-82 at Cedarville. Ashland is 17-8 overall and 13-4 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, and is 15-4 in the last 19 games after a 2-4 start.
Ashland is 1½ games behind Hillsdale for first place in the Great Midwest with three games to play, and a half-game behind Walsh for second place. The Eagles, however, did clinch a spot in the Great Midwest Tournament and a home conference tournament quarterfinal game on Feb. 28.
The Yellow Jackets are 17-8, 10-7.
Haraway's 30 points were a season high, and gives him 92 points in his last four games. On Thursday night, he was 10-of-16 from the floor, 3-of-6 from 3-point range and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line, and added four assists. His 1,450 career points now are 13
th in Ashland men's basketball history.
Thursday night was the 50
th all-time matchup between Ashland and Cedarville, with the Eagles winning 39 times.
WHAT HAPPENED
- The game started off slowly in the way of points, with the Yellow Jackets leading 7-4 at the under-16 media timeout. Cedarville was on an 8-0 run overall and had a 12-4 lead when Ashland stopped the action with 14 minutes until halftime.
- Trailing 28-12, the Eagles began to chip away. Junior center Victor Searls' old-fashioned 3-point play cut the deficit to eight at 30-22, and by the time freshman point guard Simon Wheeler made a layup, Ashland trailed by just two points at 30-28 – cutting 14 points off its deficit in four minutes.
- Fifth-year forward James Manns' layup outside of the one-minute mark put AU ahead at 42-41, then redshirt freshman forward Maceo Williams put the Eagles ahead again at 44-43. That was the halftime score, as the Eagles outscored Cedarville 32-15 after that 16-point deficit.
- At the break, Searls had 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting in just nine minutes, and Haraway had 11 points and three assists after playing all 20 first-half minutes.
- The two teams were tied at 51 at the under-16 media stoppage in the second half, and there continued to be little room between the two as the half continued – until Haraway started taking over. Ten straight Haraway points put Ashland on top 66-59, and gave him 24 points with 9:27 left in regulation.
- Manns' triple put the Eagles ahead 75-68 with five minutes left in the second half, then his trey inside of the four-minute mark made the Ashland lead 78-72. Williams' layup with a minute to play gave the Eagles a 81-77 cushion, but five consecutive Yellow Jacket points put Cedarville back on top, 82-81.
- Haraway's triple with six seconds left was the game-winner. The Yellow Jackets had one last shot to tie or win, but the Eagles survived for the victory.
THE WRAP-UP
- Four Eagles scored in double figures in the win – Haraway, Manns (17 points), Searls (13 points) and Williams (12 points).
- Ashland made 53.4 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from beyond the arc and 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) from the charity stripe. This is the third consecutive game, and sixth time in the last nine contests, that the Eagles have hit at least half their shots from the floor.
UP NEXT
On Saturday (Feb. 16) at 3 p.m., Ashland's men will have Senior Day against No. 13-ranked Hillsdale (22-3, 15-3) at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium.
