To finish the Ashland University Classic on Sunday (Nov. 17) night at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium, Ashland University's men's basketball team lost late to Indiana, Pa., 75-72.
It is the Eagles' first loss of the young 2024-25 season (2-1), while the Crimson Hawks are 2-2. Sunday's game was the first meeting between AU and IUP in men's basketball.
Ashland scored the game's first eight points, but trailed 14-10 out of the first media timeout. The Eagles, however, posted eight straight points to regain the lead.
At the six-minute mark of the first half, Ashland had its biggest lead of the contest to date at 33-23. The Eagles' 14-point lead at 37-23 turned into 37-31 out of the last media stoppage of the first half.
Ashland led 43-36 at the half, and featured a balanced, efficient offense – three players in double-digit scoring (senior wing
Stefan Stanic 14 points, junior point guard
Jaron Crews 13 points, junior forward
Maceo Williams 10 points), and hitting 69.6 percent from the field and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line.
IUP scored the first 10 points of the second half to take a 46-43 lead, but the Eagles worked their way back to a 53-53 tie, then took a 58-53 lead on five straight Williams points.
The Crimson Hawks led by seven points at 70-63 shortly after the last media timeout of the game, but five straight Crews points put the deficit at just a bucket at 72-70.
After Williams grabbed a rebound and got fouled with 14.8 seconds left in regulation, he made both charity tosses for the tie. IUP hit a triple with 5.7 seconds left to re-take the lead, then the Eagles couldn't convert to extend the contest.
…AND THE REST OF THE STORY
- Crews scored a team-high 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, while Williams added 18 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.
- Williams is shooting 77.1 percent from the field to start 2024-25.
- Stanic ended with 16 points, three rebounds, three blocks and three steals, and sophomore wing Aden Gregory had 10 points.
- The Eagles made 59.1 percent from the field on Sunday night.
UP NEXT
Another home game on Wednesday (Nov. 20) at 6 p.m. vs. Ferris State (5-1).
