The 2023-24 version of the Ashland University men's basketball team has two very important characteristics – it hasn't lost at home, and it wills itself to wins in close games.
On Thursday (Jan. 18) night at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium, the Eagles improved to 12-4 overall and 6-3 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference after a 71-70 win over conference-leading Trevecca Nazarene (12-4, 7-1).
So far this season, Ashland is 7-0 at home and 5-0 in games decided by five points or less.
"They played hard tonight," said Ashland head coach
John Ellenwood, who is 100 games above .500 guiding the Eagles (255-155). "Trevecca is very well coached. They've got some fighters on their team. We knew last time we played them, they punched us in the mouth. And we wanted to make sure when they came here, they got our best effort. And I think they did.
"I'm proud of our guys' fight, for sure."
Trevecca jumped out to a 10-0 lead before the first media timeout of the contest, but thanks to redshirt freshman wing
Cooper Davis, the Eagle offense came to life. A quick seven points from Davis cut the deficit to 19-13.
Back-to-back 3-point field goals from junior wing
Stefan Stanic got AU to within three points at 26-23, then a Stanic triple brought the Eagles all the way back at 29-all. By halftime, however, Trevecca had a slim 37-35 lead.
In the first half, Stanic (11 points) and Davis (10 points) combined for 21 of Ashland's 35 points.
A layup from sophomore forward
Maceo Williams gave the Eagles their first lead at 39-37, then a thunderous dunk from junior guard
Trevell Adams on the fast break put AU ahead at 45-39. Ashland's run to begin the second half was 14-2, putting it ahead 49-39.
Trevecca Nazarene, however, wasn't going away, and cut the deficit to four point a 52-48 with 13 minutes left to go. With 7:03 remaining, a pair of free throws by fifth-year guard
Ethan Conley put the Eagles on top 62-52, but the Trojans scored the next seven points to cut the Eagle lead to three points.
Stanic's triple inside of the four-minute mark gave him a career-high 16 points – and, most importantly, a 67-62 lead for his team. Inside of the two-minute mark, Ashland's advantage was 69-66, then a driving layup for the Trojans made it 69-68. Williams, however, countered with a driving layup of his own to put the Eagles back ahead by three.
Back-and-forth the two teams went, with a Trevecca put-back making it a one-point game again with 65 seconds to play. With the Eagles leading 71-70 in the final minute, the Trojans committed an offensive foul, then two missed charity tosses set up Trevecca for a 1-and-1 on the other end.
With 26.6 seconds to play, the front end was missed. Two more missed AU free throws gave TNU another shot with win at the end, but an errant 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Eagles the win.
POST-GAME NUGGETS
- Stanic finished with a 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting, 4-of-4 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the foul line, and added seven rebounds, two assists, three blocked shots and three steals.
- Said Stanic, "It feels great. We needed that win, for sure. We fought really hard. That intensity we had at the very end, we've just got to do that the entire time. We just never quit."
- "Stef is all heart," Ellenwood said. "I love him. I love how hard he plays. He had some big offense for us tonight, but his defense is all-conference. I can't say enough about him."
- Williams tied for game-high scorer with 18 points on 8-of-10 from the field, and added seven rebounds. Sophomore point guard Simon Wheeler added a dozen points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Davis finished with 10 points.
- The Eagles made 50 percent from the field in the victory, while the Trojans made 43.1 percent – marking the sixth straight game AU has kept an opponent to less than 44.4 percent.
- Ashland has won five of six meetings with the Trojans since joining the Great Midwest.
UP NEXT
A second consecutive home game on Saturday (Jan. 18) at 3 p.m. against Cedarville (12-5, 6-1).
