Ashland University's men's basketball team outlasted Thomas More on the road on Saturday (Dec. 13), 91-88, for a double-overtime Great Midwest Athletic Conference win.
The Eagles move to 7-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference, while the Saints are 5-3, 1-2.
Ashland was 7-of-10 from the field in the two extra periods – at the end of a contest which featured nine lead changes and 12 tie scores.
The Eagles turned an early 6-2 Saints lead into a 17-11 advantage thanks to a 15-5 run. Ashland led by 10 points at 31-21 at the latest media timeout of the first half thanks to a 3-point field goal from junior wing
Cooper Davis, and at the half, the Eagles went into the locker room up 38-30.
During what was a very clean first 20 minutes (total of seven turnovers and six fouls), Ashland made 48.3 percent from the field, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and all six free-throw attempts.
A 12-2 Saints run to begin the second half pulled Thomas More ahead at 42-40. Then after trailing 44-42, the Eagles ran off 10 straight points to regain the lead.
The Saints rallied to within a single point at 62-61 with five minutes to play after scoring eight in a row, but a Davis old-fashioned 3-point play kept Thomas More from going on top.
Outside of the three-minute mark of the second half, however, the Saints did knot the game at 65-all. A free throw and a steal from redshirt freshman point guard
Jordan Edwards, then a layup from senior forward
Maceo Williams, restored a three-point lead for AU at 68-65, but a Thomas More triple tied the contest again going into the last minute of regulation.
Davis' two charity tosses put Ashland up again, then the Saints countered with a tying jumper – leading to overtime.
Halfway through the extra period, the Eagles took three leads – only to see Thomas More re-tie the game three times. The Saints then took a 78-77 lead, but a Williams layup once again put AU on the right side of the scoreboard at 79-78 with 1:32 remaining.
Back and forth they went, with Thomas More taking an 80-79 lead with 76 ticks to go – but the Eagles had an opportunity to win at the end. Williams went to foul line looking to put AU ahead again, but a split left the score at 80-80 – which forced a second OT period.
The score continued to ping-pong back and forth, but when the Saints missed the back end at the line, that kept the Eagles leading 87-86 with 37.3 seconds on the clock. After a Thomas More foul with 22.2 seconds to go, Edwards made 1-of-2 for a two-point lead.
Davis then poked the ball away from the Saints on a back-door pass, leading to two Davis freebies. Thomas More's ensuing basket left Ashland leading 90-88 with three seconds to play, then junior wing
Destin Logan made 1-of-2 from the line to end the game.
SIX EAGLES SCORE AT LEAST 10
- Six Ashland players hit for double-digit points, combining for 84 of its 91 points – Williams (16), Davis (16), Edwards (16), redshirt freshman guard Max Dawson (13), redshirt freshman forward Trent Minor (12) and Logan (11).
- Williams, who added 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks, now has 1,546 career points, moving into ninth place on AU's all-time scoring list.
COMING UP
A third consecutive Great Midwest road game to end the first semester, Wednesday (Dec. 18) at 5 p.m. at Ohio Dominican.
