Ashland University's men's basketball team had a lead just outside of the two-minute mark on Monday (Dec. 16) night at Lake Erie, but the Eagles lost to the Storm, 86-82, in a road Great Midwest Athletic Conference contest.
The Eagles are 5-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference, and the Storm is 8-3, 1-2.
Five of Ashland's first nine games in 2024-25 have been decided by five points or less.
After the Storm scored the game's first nine points, the Eagles countered with the next eight. Halfway through the first half, Lake Erie led 20-13, as Ashland had six turnovers and hadn't forced one.
Seven straight points gave the Storm a 10-point lead at 31-21 inside of the seven-minute mark, but sophomore wing
Cooper Davis' four-point play later stopped the Lake Erie momentum – temporarily.
Back and forth the two teams went, and when junior forward
Maceo Williams dunked inside of the two-minute mark, the Eagles' deficit to cut to four points at 41-37. Two free throws from senior guard
Gbolahan Adio, then an Adio dunk, pulled AU even at 41 in the final minute of the first half.
The Eagles took the lead for the first time in the game at the half's buzzer, when senior wing
Stefan Stanic hit a 3-pointer for a 44-42 advantage going into the break. Ashland made 56.5 percent from the field, 4-of-8 from 3-point range and 14-of-15 from the free-throw line in the first 20 minutes, as sophomore guard
Aden Gregory made all eight of his shots – four from the field, and four from the charity stripe – for 12 points.
With 12 minutes to go in regulation, the two teams were knotted at 57. After being tied again at 63, Ashland pushed ahead with six straight points. The Eagles were clinging to a slim lead late, but Lake Erie hit a triple outside of the two-minute mark to go up 77-76.
Trailing 79-76 in the last minute of regulation, Williams made both free throws to cut the deficit to a point with 46 ticks to go. Another Storm trey, however, made the difference four points inside of 30 seconds to play.
Williams' layup put the score at 82-80, but only 14 seconds remained. Lake Erie hit both charity tosses with 12 seconds left, then Adio's layup kept the back and forth going. Six seconds were on the clock, then the Storm made two more freebies to finish off the game.
Lake Erie was 6-for-7 from the line down the stretch.
…AND THE REST OF THE STORY
- Five Eagles scored in double digits on Monday night – Williams (20 points, 14 rebounds, four assists), Davis (16 points), Gregory (16 points, four assists, three rebounds), Adio (14 points, 6-of-8 shooting) and Stanic (10 points).
- Williams has 991 career points – nine away from becoming the 32nd player to score 1,000 points as an Eagle men's basketball player.
- Ashland was 21-for-24 (87.5 percent) from the free-throw line, and made 49.1 percent from the field.
UP NEXT
Two games at the Saint Leo Holiday Classic in Florida on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 20-21).
