The Ashland University men’s basketball team waltzed into Kate’s Gymnasium on Thursday, Dec. 8, looking for their first conference win. It would come at no ease however as the Eagles took on the veteran-heavy Walsh Cavaliers who were picked to finish first in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference standings in the preseason poll.

The Eagles, coming off a loss to the Oilers to open conference play, rebounded well showcasing their hard-hitting three-point skills alongside shifty finishing at the hoop.

To start the first half both teams went back and forth exchanging blows.

The Eagles received deep threes from forward James Manns and lateral quickness at the net from guard Brandon Haraway who helped lead the Eagles on the court and in the huddle.

Roughly 10 minutes into the contest the Eagles established a 12-point lead before surrendering that down as the halftime whistle commenced with the score in favor of the Cavaliers, 32-31.

The first half saw Haraway and Manns carry the Eagles, scoring 24 of the 32 points. Outside of Manns and Haraway, the other two to score were forward Maceo Williams with two and guard Simon Wheeler with six.

To start the second half, the trend remained the same with both teams exchanging blows back and forth with the score remaining within one.

With 10 minutes left in the contest, however, the game began to shift in favor of the Eagles.

Whether it was a deep ranged three-pointer from forward Stefan Stanic of the bench, or Haraway making a big play at the rim, the home-court advantage gave newfound drive for the Eagles.

They started to run away with the contest as they established a double-digit lead with six minutes remaining in the game and never looked back. Head Coach of the Eagles, John Ellenwood, even had the opportunity to empty the bench and give other rotational pieces an opportunity to see the court.

The ending score saw the Eagles win, 68-50.

Haraway finished the contest with 22 points, Manns finished with 19 and Wheeler finished with 10. Defensively, Wheeler led the way with four steals while helping shut down the Cavaliers’ primary guard, Logan Murray.

With the win, the Eagles improve to 3-4 overall on the season and 1-1 in conference play. Their win also hands the Cavaliers their first loss in conference play.

They now look to take on the Northwood Timberwolves on Saturday, Dec. 10, with tipoff set for 3 p.m.