The Ashland University men’s basketball team pulled off a big 80-67 win over the No. 13 nationally ranked Hillsdale College Chargers. The Chargers, also sat first in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, heading into their contest against the Eagles.

Earlier in the season, the Eagles downed the Chargers on Feb. 2, 82-73, knocking them down the table in the national rankings, where they previously sat at No. 9.

In the first half, the Eagles and Chargers went toe-to-toe with the Chargers getting out to an early seven-point lead. After a timeout was called, Head Coach John Ellenwood of the Eagles made adjustments to the offense and guard Brandon Haraway started to thrive.

He was able to get the offense rolling as forwards Maceo Williams and Victor Searls contributed in the paint on the defensive side of things. With both the offense and defense finding staples early in the contest, the Eagles were able to find consistency in the first half.

Haraway finished the first half with 20 points while shooting a consistent 7o% from the field. The Eagles went into the halftime break leading 40-39, with a one-point lead.

Heading into the second half, the Eagles only built upon their lead as the Chargers did not lead outside of the first five minutes.

The final score would give the Eagles an 18-8 overall record, handing the Chargers just their fourth loss of the season in the 13-point win.

The Eagles outscored the Chargers 40-28 in the second half, with the Eagles outshooting the Chargers 55% to 44% from the field to finish the game. Beyond the arc, the big storyline was Hillsdale’s 46%. Guard Jack Gohlke contributed a stellar 24 points to go alongside 9 of 14 from the field. Gohkle was also able to make it rain from beyond the arc as he hit 6 of 10.

On the Eagles side of things, Haraway finished with 31 points and six assists, while playing all 40 minutes. Outside of Haraway, the key contributor for the Eagles was transfer forward James Manns who could not be stopped beyond the arc as he knocked down 5 of 8 from three-point range.

The Eagles next look to take on the Malone Pioneers on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7:30 P.M., with just two games left in the regular season.