The Ashland University men's basketball team suffered a 77-66 defeat at Lake Superior State on Saturday (Feb. 9) afternoon in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The Eagles split their weekend action after beating Ferris State on Thursday.
Redshirt-senior guard Ben Haraway scored his 1,000th career point in an Ashland uniform on Saturday. He scored his 1,000th collegiate point last season and eclipsed the mark as an Eagle, after transferring from Malone following his freshman season.
On Saturday, the Eagles (19-4, 11-4 GLIAC) – ranked No. 15 in the nation – were never able to grab a lead despite keeping the Lakers (13-8, 9-6 GLIAC) close the entire game.
The Eagles had the game tied on multiple occasions early in the first half, the last coming on a jumper by junior guard Rodrick Caldwell with nine minutes left. After that, the Lakers went on a 17-0 run to take a 36-19 lead with 3:51 to play.
Freshman guard Dylan Beaugard stopped the run with his own jumper and started Ashland's 10-0 run to get the Eagles back into the game. Lake Superior State took a 40-30 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Eagles trimmed the margin down to 55-53 on Haraway's layup with seven minutes left. The Lakers then stretched their lead to seven points before a layup by senior forward Phil Frentsos got it back down to three, 60-57 with just over five minutes remaining.
Caldwell's triple with 3:51 to play cut it to 65-62, and Ashland got a defensive stop after that, but the Eagles missed a 3-point attempt before Tim Cairnduff hit a trey to make it 68-62. LSSU then forced another Ashland miss and Cairnduff's layup made it a three-possession game, effectively ending the Eagles' hopes.
Junior center Drew Noble led the Eagles with 17 points, four rebounds and two blocks. Caldwell added 14 points and four boards, while redshirt-sophomore guard Aaron Thompson had 12 points and 10 boards for his second straight double-double.
Haraway was the fourth Eagle in double figures with 10 points in the game. The Eagles played without sophomore forward Derek Koch, who missed the game with an injury.
Malek Adams paced the Lakers with 21 points on 10-for-17 shooting to go with a team-high seven rebounds and three assists.
LSSU shot 52 percent (30-for-58) while the Eagles connected at a 43 percent (26-for-60) rate. The Lakers committed just four turnovers.
The Eagles will return to Kates Gymnasium on Thursday (Feb. 14) at 7:30 p.m. when they take on Purdue Northwest.
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