Courtesy of Dusty Sloan, Ashland University Sports Information Director
One more step forward, and two more milestones for Ashland University's men's basketball team.
The No. 11-ranked Eagles won their 11th straight game on Thursday (Feb. 25) night, 83-65, over Lake Erie at Kates Gymnasium. In doing so, Ashland (24-4 overall, 18-4 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) has won the GLIAC South Division title outright for the first time, and at least a share of a second straight division crown.
Also, thanks to Hillsdale's win on Thursday night at Saginaw Valley State, the Eagles will share the overall conference championship for the first time with the Cardinals. Ashland will be the No. 2 seed in the 2016 GLIAC Tournament, and will play host to Grand Valley State (18-10, 12-10) on Tuesday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. in a tourney quarterfinal.
"That's a testament to how tough our guys are," said Ashland head coach John Ellenwood. "Other than rebounding, offensive rebounding…I was pretty happy all around with our team.
"I think we're pretty excited (for the tournament). I think our guys have kind of been waiting for the regular season to get over with, and this is uncharted territory. This is obviously something that hasn't been done here in a long time. We've put ourselves in some uncharted territory that is fun to explore."
The Storm's season ends at 10-18, 7-15.
Junior forward Wendell Davis led the Eagles with 25 points on 11-of-14 from the field to go with nine rebounds. Davis has 1,299 career points, and is 14th all-time in program history, 28 points behind Chris Keshock (1,327).
Sophomore forward Marsalis Hamilton tied his career high with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor to go with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
"Twenty-one points is a great game," said Ellenwood. "You've got to respect him from the 3-point line now. Going into this year, one of our biggest question marks was our 3-point shooting, and Marsalis Hamilton has been an exclamation point for us."
Said Hamilton, "First off, it was for Big Mike (Hundley) and for (Ben) Gency. As far as my best game of the season, I don't know. I don't really think about it that way."
On Senior Night, Hundley posted six points, seven blocks and two rebounds.
"Mike's tenacious right now," Ellenwood said. "From where he was at the start of the year to the second half of the season, what he's done defensively, it's tough to find a better defensive center in the conference."
Hundley said, "I try to time it right when they come to the hole, try my best. I know they have faith in me that when they come that I'll block it. That gives a lot of confidence to me."
Junior point guard Adrian Cook finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Ashland outrebounded Lake Erie by a decided 40-28 margin, and shot 64.2 percent from the field, 78.6 percent in the game's first 20 minutes. The Eagles kept the Storm to 34.8-percent shooting from the floor and the 3-point arc.
The Eagles led 17-13 in the first half before going on a 13-2 run to pull away. AU's smallest lead for the remainder of the game was 12 points.
THE NOTEBOOK: The Eagles' 24 wins this season are two short of the school record of 26 in 1968-69 and 1990-91…Ashland's 11-game winning streak is its best since 15 in a row in 1990-91…The Eagles have won 25 of their last 30 (.833) home games, and the five losses in that span are by a total of 16 points...Ashland's 14 home wins this season are the most since 2006-07 (14).
