Cedarville's 18
th and final 3-point field goal of Thursday (Feb. 29) night's game in the waning seconds dealt Ashland University's men's basketball team an 84-83 road loss.
The Eagles' fourth consecutive loss leaves them at 16-10 overall and 10-9 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, while the Yellow Jackets are 19-10, 13-6.
A fast offensive start by both teams saw Cedarville leading 14-8 at the game's first media timeout – the Yellow Jackets making their first six shots, and the Eagles making four of their first six. Neither team cooled off as the game progressed, and inside of the 11-minute mark, Cedarville continued to sport a lead at 24-17.
The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to 44-30 inside of the four-minute mark, but by halftime, back-to-back 3-point field goals from junior wing
Stefan Stanic and redshirt freshman wing
Cooper Davis cut AU's deficit to 49-42 at the break.
Ashland made two-thirds of its shots from the field in the game's 20 minutes, and received good halves from both sophomore point guard
Simon Wheeler (14 points, three rebounds, two assists) and senior center
Victor Searls (12 points, four rebounds, three assists). Cedarville's Chris Rogers, however, scored 18 points on 7-of-7 from the field and 4-of-4 from beyond the arc in 15 first-half minutes.
After scoring the last six points of the first half, the Eagles scored the first four points of the second half to cut Cedarville's lead to 49-46. Trailing 57-50, Ashland kept coming, and when Wheeler made a layup inside of 14 minutes to play, it was a 57-57 tie.
Davis' triple gave Ashland its first lead of the game at 60-57, and the Eagles sported a 70-63 lead when Cedarville called a timeout outside of the eight-minute mark. AU's first double-digit lead came at 76-66 with 4:30 to go.
The Yellow Jackets did not go away, cutting their deficit to 83-81 with 13 seconds to go – then an Eagle turnover set up Rogers for the winning long-range triple with six seconds left.
POST-GAME NUGGETS
- Five Eagles scored in double figures on Thursday – Wheeler (25 points), Searls (16 points, nine rebounds, eight assists), sophomore forward Maceo Williams (13 points, 10 rebounds), Davis (11 points, 3-for-3 from 3-point range), and junior guard Trevell Adams (10 points).
- Ashland made 57.9 percent from the field, 6-of-13 from beyond the arc and 73.3 percent from the free-throw line, while out-rebounding Cedarville, 40-32.
UP NEXT
Senior Day and the regular-season finale on Saturday (March 2) at 3 p.m. at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium vs. Findlay (12-15, 9-10).
