The Ashland University men's basketball team strolled to a 52-33 halftime lead on its way to a comprehensive 86-65 win over visiting Davenport on Saturday (Dec. 9) afternoon at Kates Gymnasium.
Redshirt-freshman guard Joey Zahn poured in a career-high 21 points by going 7-for-9 from 3-point range. The last player with seven triples in a game was Jan. 7, 2017 when Boo Osborne also drained seven. Fifth-year senior forward Wendell Davis filled the stat sheet with 20 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals to lead the Eagles.
"We played as focused of a game as we've played all year," said AU head coach John Ellenwood. "We passed the ball about as well as we have all year. The adjustments we made earlier in the week after the last road trip seem to be paying off and I'm proud of that."
The Eagles (7-3, 2-2 GLIAC) finished with 19 assists on 28 made field goals as all five starters had at least two assists, led by senior forward Marsalis Hamilton's five dimes to go with a season-high 17 points and four rebounds. The Eagles shot 62.5 percent (15-for-24) from 3-point range.
"It makes it easy to play with a bunch of guys that are unselfish, especially when you have a guy like Wendell Davis," Zahn said. "He can go out and get a 30-ball every night, but he wants to win. We find the right ways to win and play together. That's what makes it easy for me. I'm just thankful I have unselfish guys around me."
The Eagles led the Panthers (8-3, 3-1 GLIAC) by eight, 41-33, with 2:30 to play in the first half before closing the period on an 11-0 run. Junior forward Phil Frentsos and Zahn hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the run and Frentsos capped the run with a monster and-1 alley-oop slam off a Hamilton feed. Frentsos scored all 13 of his points in the first half.
"We're the spark guys, we like to come off the bench and give energy on both ends of the floor," Frentsos said. "We've got some good primary drivers, so we just want to knock down shots and play our role."
In the second half, the Eagles stretched their lead to as many as 24 points and never let the margin slip under 15 as Ashland handed Davenport its first GLIAC loss and evened its own conference record.
Redshirt-junior guard Ben Haraway was the fifth AU player in double figures with 10 points, four assists and two blocks.
The Eagles shot 58.3 percent (28-for-48) from the field and missed just two free throws, shooting 15-for-17 (88.2 percent) from the line.
Ashland limited Davenport to just 42.4 percent (25-for-59) shooting from the field. Delano Smith led the Panthers with 17 points while Avery Hudson added 16.
The Eagles will now have a full week off for final exams before returning to the court on Saturday (Dec. 16) at Tiffin for a 3 p.m. tip-off.
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