No. 6 Eagles Coast To Win at Purdue Northwest

No. 6 Eagles Coast To Win at Purdue Northwest

The Ashland University men's basketball team rebounded from its first loss of the season by downing Purdue Northwest, 81-57, on Saturday (Jan. 12) afternoon in Westville, Ind.

The Eagles (14-1, 7-1 GLIAC), ranked No. 6 in the NABC Division II coaches' poll, held the Pride (6-10, 2-6 GLIAC) to just 34.5 percent (20-for-58) shooting and just six 3-pointers on the day. Ashland also came up with a season-high 13 steals and matched a season high with seven blocked shots.

Meanwhile, the Eagles sank 11 3-pointers, including three each from senior guards Ben Haraway and Jay Slone.

The Eagles started the game on a 16-5 burst – a run capped by a pair of 3-pointers by Slone before a PNW timeout stopped the run with 14 minutes left in the first half.

A free throw by Haraway gave Ashland a 22-12 lead and the margin never slipped back into single digits as senior forward Phil Frentsos and Haraway hit consecutive treys to push the Eagles ahead, 30-14.

All that came around some fabulous post play by junior center Drew Noble, who scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the first half. He shot 8-for-14 from the field and had nine rebounds and four blocks.

Haraway's steal and buzzer-beater gave the Eagles a 40-24 lead at halftime. He finished with 14 points.

In the second half, the Eagles' lead continued to grow as head coach John Ellenwood was able to turn to his reserve unit for valuable minutes. Frentsos saw 29 minutes of action and finished with nine points and five boards. Slone scored 11 points.

Freshman forward Jake McLoughlin and senior forward John Brady combined for eight points and hit all three of their shots. Freshman guard Dylan Beaugard hit three free throws in six minutes off the bench.

Junior guard Rodrick Caldwell was the Eagles' primary distributor with two points, eight rebounds and five assists while sophomore forward Derek Koch had nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Redshirt-sophomore wing Aaron Thompson filled up the stat sheet with five points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals.

None of the Pride's starters scored in double figures with Dean Tate leading the way for Purdue Northwest with 14 points and three rebounds.

The Eagles won the battle on the glass, 44-39.

The Eagles will return to Kates Gymnasium on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. when they take on Saginaw Valley.

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