Lakers Use Late Run To Defeat Eagle Men, 87-75

Lakers Use Late Run To Defeat Eagle Men, 87-75

LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY MEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE

THE TURNING POINT: The score was tied at 72 with 5:13 to play before Grand Valley State finished the game on a 15-3 run.

STAT OF THE GAME: The Eagles hit a season-high 11 3-point field goals for the second consecutive game.

A game-ending 15-3 run by Grand Valley State handed Ashland University's men's basketball team an 87-75 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference road loss on Monday (Dec. 19) night.

The Eagles are 6-5 overall and 2-4 in the GLIAC, while the Lakers are 8-5, 4-2.

Grand Valley's offense hit for 53.6 percent from the field and 63.2 percent from the 3-point line, and turned the ball over just seven times. Ashland countered with a season-high-tying 11 triples and a 76.2-percent showing from the free-throw line, and just nine turnovers.

Senior guard Adrian Cook led the Eagle offense with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor, and added three rebounds and four assists. Sophomore forward Phil Frentsos came off the bench for a season-high 12 points (all on 3-pointers), five rebounds and two steals.

Both senior guard Boo Osborne and senior forward Torin Wetzel added 10 points, and Osborne led the team with eight rebounds.

For the second time in three days, Ashland fell behind early, this deficit being 13-4 in the game's first five minutes. The Eagles worked the GVSU lead down to 18-14, then 21-20 with 8:51 until halftime.

Wetzel's 3-pointer, Ashland's sixth of the first half, knotted the game at 23 with 7:34 to go until the break. The Eagles' seventh triple, by Osborne, lifted them to a 28-26 lead at the 6:23 mark.

At the half, Grand Valley State sported a 45-43 lead, as both teams hit eight treys. Ashland's bench combined for 25 of the team's points in the first 20 minutes.

The Eagles started the second half on a 12-3 run to lead 55-48, but the Lakers' ensuing 16-5 run gave them a 64-60 advantage.

Ashland re-tied the game at 72 on two Wetzel free throws at the 5:13 mark, but Grand Valley closed the game on its late run for the victory.

Monday's contest featured 11 ties and six lead changes.

UP NEXT: Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Kates Gymnasium against Thiel.

 
 

AU

MBKB/DS