The Ashland University men’s basketball team has continued to find success and positive results as the season has approached its climax.

With a 13-7 overall record and a 9-4 conference record, the Eagles look to finish its season out on a strong note with eight games remaining.

“Every game we had to go in with a better mentality than we did in the last win,” said guard Derrick James. “Things like starting the game stronger and limiting mistakes/turnovers were also some adjustments.”

While this season has been nothing short of exciting for the team, they have had their fair share of highs and lows. From Dec. 8 to Jan. 12, they posted an exciting nine-game win streak.

Unfortunately, since that winning streak came to a close they have lost three out of their last five contests. Even though it seems the team’s momentum may be halted momentarily, forward Maceo Williams is not worried about the bump in the road.

“All the teams are challenging and every conference game is challenging. We just have to take it one game at a time,” said Williams.

In the Eagles most recent contest against the Tiffin Dragons, he posted seven points and 10 rebounds off the bench. They went on to win against the Dragons, 74-61.

Alongside the Dragons this past week, they took on the Malone Pioneers. In that contest, they started off strong posting a 44-31 lead, before being outscored 49-34 in the second half. For some teams, they may become discouraged by a loss that close, it only builds motivation for the Eagles.

“As a team we are not even close to greatest we can be. We have a lot of work to do. This includes all aspects of the game and off the court,” said James. “No matter how great it looks we will improve on offense, defense, our talk on the court, our on court stats/percentages, and our performance as a whole.”

James has blossomed into an exciting spark off the bench for the Eagles alongside counterpart freshman Simon Wheeler and veteran guard Brandon Haraway.

With an abundance of promising young talent, and veterans that keep the locker room level-headed, the sky is the limit for the Eagles.

They now gear up to take on its toughest test yet as they travel to Hillsdale, Mich. to take on the Chargers on Thursday, Feb. 2.