Trailing by 10 points late on Saturday (Jan. 3) against Ohio Dominican at the Sherrill Hudson Court at Kates Gymnasium, Ashland University's men's basketball flipped the script, scoring the game's last 11 points for a 70-69 Great Midwest Athletic Conference win.
After junior wing
Destin Logan's two free throws with 8.5 seconds to play, then his block of the Panthers' desperation shot to end the game, the Eagles improve to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the Great Midwest. AU is one of nine conference teams (out of 12) with two league losses going into the new week.
"We've got some tough guys," said Ashland head coach
John Ellenwood, whose team is 4-0 in 2025-26 in games decided by five points or less and 3-0 this season in games decided by three points or less. "Destin was the heart and soul of that comeback. He doesn't know how to quit, because of what he's been through. A basketball game is nothing to him."
Said Logan, "It was just a great moment to finally make an impact in the game. Team-wise, it meant a lot, to just overcome the last four minutes. It's hard to win any conference game.
"I'm just glad I got to help. This was a huge win. It's just one part of the journey."
Ohio Dominican (9-4, 3-2) led 12-7 at the game's first media timeout, as Ashland missed nine of its first 11 shots from the field. The Eagles, however, came out of that stoppage scoring the game's next 15 points to move on top.
Ashland's biggest first-half lead was 28-18, and it went into halftime with a 34-27 advantage. The Eagles kept the Panthers to 30.3-percent shooting in the first 20 minutes, while sophomore forward
Jason Moore posted 11 points and made all five shots in 10 minutes off the bench.
ODU worked its way back to a 41-40 lead with 14 minutes left in the second half, but Moore's old-fashioned 3-point play restored AU's lead at 43-41. The Panthers rallied once again, and their modern trey gave them a 55-53 advantage with 8:01 to go.
Ohio Dominican took its biggest lead of the day at 62-55 inside of the six-minute mark, then at 67-58 with 4:38 to go in the game. The Panthers led 69-59, but then the Eagles had one more run left in them – an 11-0 run which ended with Logan's charity tosses.
MOORE COMES UP CLUTCH OFF THE BENCH
- Moore scored a career-high 22 points on 10-of-11 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench.
- "Jason Moore was huge today. It gives you a glimpse of what he can become," Ellenwood said. "I was proud of him the whole day."
- The Eagles received 36 points off the bench – more than half of their total – on Saturday.
- "Our bench has never produced like it is right now, I think, since I've been here," Ellenwood said.
- Senior forward Maceo Williams added 13 points.
COMING UP
Back home on Monday (Jan. 5) at 7:30 p.m. vs. Findlay (9-4, 3-2).
"We have to come ready to go with energy," Ellenwood said. "And it's not going to get easier after that."
