One last game prior to Thanksgiving for Ashland University's men's basketball team resulted in a 101-63 win over Kent State-Tuscarawas on Wednesday (Nov. 26) afternoon at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium.
The Eagles' fifth consecutive victory puts them at 5-1, while the Golden Eagles are 4-4.
"I'm proud of our guys," said Ashland head coach
John Ellenwood. "I said you've got to get some guys in the game who normally don't get in. They work hard at practice, and I wanted to get those guys in, and we did that.
"Their coach does a great job, and those kids play hard. It's always a good game, because you have to defend them."
An early 6-0 lead thanks to back-to-back 3-point field goals from junior wing
Cooper Davis turned into a 12-11 Golden Eagles advantage. Ashland worked its lead back to a game-high seven points at 26-19, and by halftime, it was a 48-28.
In those first 20 minutes, Davis posted 15 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists, while redshirt freshman guard
Max Dawson added a dozen points off the bench. Tuscarawas turned the ball over 12 times, resulting in 15 AU points.
THE FIVE-IN-A-ROW WRAPUP
- Dawson paced all scorers with a career-high 19 points in 19 minutes off the bench, and Davis was right behind with 18 points.
- Senior forward Maceo Williams, the reigning National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)/Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CIDA) national Player of the Week and Great Midwest men's basketball Athlete of the Week, finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
- Redshirt freshman forward Trent Minor posted a career-high 10 points off the bench.
- "He was injured last year, and he's just getting confidence," Ellenwood said. "Trent's got to give us more minutes as we go forward here. I was proud of his effort today."
- Ashland made 54.8 percent from the field (better than 51 percent for a fifth straight contest) and 46.4 percent from 3-point range. The Eagles had 23 assists to just 10 turnovers.
- "These guys are coachable. They know how to move the ball," said Ellenwood. "We've got some special passers."
- AU forced 20 turnovers and converted those to 24 points.
NEXT UP
A Midwest Region match-up at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 30) at home vs. Saginaw Valley State (4-0).
"Saginaw's a very good team," Ellenwood said. "They're athletic, they're long. They never lack talent up there."
