Trailing 75-61 with just outside of six minutes to play in Saturday's (March 4) 2023 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament championship game at Walsh, it looked as if Malone's men's basketball team was on its way to a third consecutive win over Ashland University in 2022-23.
Until it wasn't.
The Eagles outscored the Pioneers 21-3 to end Saturday's game, giving Ashland an 82-78 win for its second conference tournament title in the last three years. AU is 22-9, and will automatically qualify for the 2023 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional on March 11-12 and 14.
Ashland's 22 wins are the most for the program since 2018-19 (23), and the Eagles are 10-2 in their last 12 games going into the NCAA tournament.
Malone is 18-11.
Freshman point guard
Simon Wheeler picked up on Saturday where he left off on Friday (March 3) night, scoring a quick seven points as Ashland led 11-5 at the first media timeout. The Pioneers worked their deficit down to 17-16, then Malone took its first lead at 19-17.
It was a 24-all tie with 6:21 left until halftime, but when Wheeler hit a 3-pointer – for his 17
th point of the first half – Ashland led 29-27. By halftime, the Eagles led 35-33, with Wheeler leading the offensive effort which included shooting 53.6 percent from the field.
Both teams came out firing to start the second half, with each hitting their first three shots and Malone taking a 42-41 lead. The Pioneer lead was 46-41 when the Eagles stopped the game with a timeout – but that led to a 7-0 Ashland run, capped off by a triple from senior guard
Brandon Haraway.
Malone hit back-to-back treys to re-take the lead at 56-50, then Ashland stopped the game again at 58-50 inside of 12 minutes to play. The Pioneers, however, had their biggest lead to that point at 67-54 inside of 9½ minutes to go thanks to 9-0 run.
Six consecutive points from sophomore forward
Stefan Stanic got AU to within eight points at 75-67 with six minutes to go, then back-to-back Haraway layups got it to four points at 75-71. Wheeler's old-fashioned 3-point play made it a one-point deficit at 75-74.
Redshirt freshman
Maceo Williams' layup gave Ashland the lead at 76-75, thanks to a 15-0 run overall. Another Williams layup put the Eagles ahead 78-77, then another Williams bucket made it 80-77 in the final minute.
Malone went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe for an 80-78 AU lead with 10 seconds to go, then Williams stepped to the line and made both to effectively end the game.
NOTABLES
- Wheeler finished with 22 points and six assists, and Williams came off the bench for 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go with six rebounds and three assists. Stanic ended with a career-high 14 points, and also was 6-of-8 from the field.
- Haraway, the conference tournament Most Valuable Player for the second time in three years, also scored 14 points, and his 1,571 career points put him sixth on Ashland's all-time scoring list.
- Williams has made at least 50 percent from the field in each of the last nine games. Williams and Wheeler were named to the all-tournament team.
- The Eagles shot 59.3 percent from the field on Saturday, and had 13 assists to just nine turnovers.
- Ashland head coach John Ellenwood now has 243 wins guiding the Eagles, three away from tying Roger Lyons (246) for most in program history.
- Saturday's game was Ashland's 31st of the season, tying the program record set in 1990-91 and matched in 2015-16.
- The 2022-23 Eagles have scored 2,377 points – the most in a season since 1999-2000 (2,498).
- The 2023 Great Midwest Tournament championship t-shirt is available through the Ashland Campus Store HERE.
QUOTABLES
"They're surprising me every day, on how much heart they have," said Ellenwood. "To finish the game on a 21-3 run…we had no answer, and we were dead to rights. That's when our guys stepped up and they got tougher."
"I'm proud of him (Maceo)," Ellenwood said. "For him to step up and make those free throws at the end of the game, that shows how much he has matured this year."
"Stef was unreal today. His defense was incredible," said Ellenwood. "He's been playing great defense for us, and he's starting to score at the bucket."
