The Ashland University men's basketball team used a swarming defensive effort and shot 60 percent from the floor in routing host Purdue Northwest, 95-52, on Saturday (Feb. 17) afternoon in Hammond, Ind.
The margin of victory was the Eagles' largest since a 111-59 win over Tiffin that opened the 2007-08 season and marked the largest of head coach John Ellenwood's coaching tenure.
Redshirt-junior guard Ben Haraway scored 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting as he reached 1,000 points in his collegiate career, which began in 2014-15 at Malone where he won GLIAC Freshman of the Year honors.
On Saturday, the Eagles (17-9, 10-8 GLIAC) were clicking on both ends of the floor. Ashland actually trailed, 20-17, with 9:30 left in the first half before going on a defensive tear to close the period.
The Eagles gave up just one field goal the rest of the first half as they closed with a 27-3 run going into halftime, giving them a 44-23 lead at the intermission. Redshirt-freshman Aaron Thompson closed the half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer as part of his career-high 14 points.
Ashland shot the ball extremely well, hitting 34-of-57 field goals and going 14-for-28 (50 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc. Redshirt-freshman guard Joey Zahn regained his shooting stroke by hitting five 3-pointers while Haraway and senior forward Wendell Davis hit three triples apiece.
Defensively, the Eagles caused 15 turnovers and forced the Pride (2-24, 2-16 GLIAC) to shoot just 30 percent from the field. Tyree Coe managed 17 points, but on 14 shots, to lead Purdue Northwest, which was coming off a home win over Tiffin on Thursday.
Davis paced the Eagles offensively with 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting. He was 5-for-5 from the line and added four rebounds. Haraway had three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals to go with his 19 points. Thompson was 5-for-7 from the field to reach his career high and six rebounds.
Sophomore center Drew Noble scored 11 points and collected a team-high eight boards. Zahn scored 15 points and dished out two assists. Senior forward Marsalis Hamilton handed out a team-best five assists.
The Eagles will look close the regular season at Kates Gymnasium next week, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off against Saginaw Valley State on Thursday (Feb. 22) night.
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