Going into the locker room up one at the half, and with their lead in the GLIAC South on the line, the Eagles started the second half needing a strong finish to this tight game.

They met the challenge.

The Ashland University Eagles defeated the Walsh University Cavaliers 73-56, avenging a five-point loss at Walsh earlier this season, and holding onto that lead in the GLIAC South Division standings. Leading the Eagles in scoring was sophomore forward Wendall Davis with 19 points. Senior forward Paul Honigford added 11 from the bench, and four other Eagles had at least seven points to balance out the offense.

“We’ve had depth all year,” Coach John Ellenwood said. “We’ve got one guy averaging 17 or 18 points (Davis, 17.3 ppg) and then I got a bunch of guys averaging seven points. As a coach that’s looking at a scouting report, you see 10 guys who are capable of scoring. That’s a nightmare for a coach.”

Senior guard Brook Turson had nine points, sophomore guards Adrian Cook and Boo Osborne each had eight, and freshman forward Marsalis Hamilton finished with seven points.

In the teams’ first contest at Walsh, sophomore Zac Carter was joined by guards Jesse Hardin and Davonte Beard to score 52 of the Cavaliers 71 points. This time, though, the Eagles limited the trio to 26 points. Carter and junior guard Rian Burrell led the Cavaliers in scoring with 14 points each, but Hardin had just nine points, and Beard was held to three. 

“They beat us on ball screens last time and we did a better job of defending the ball screen,” Ellenwood said. “We didn’t just let them command. Last time we were very soft on our ball screen coverage and this time I said, ‘We were going to get out there and just disrupt the driving line that those guys were attacking’ and I thought, once we could get them to dribble backwards then our quick guards could keep them in front.”

The Eagles were able to force the Cavaliers to take tough shots throughout the second half, holding them to 8-28 (28.6 percent) shooting from the field, and 1-9 (11.1 percent) from deep. 

“We didn’t allow them to get direct penetration and with open looks,” Ellenwood said. “If they drove in there, they had to fight for a shot, make a shot over top of us. We did a better job of not fouling as they were driving.”

Free throw shooting sunk the Eagles in their last match-up with Walsh. Despite shooting 50 percent from the field, AU was only 5-12 from the free throw line, while Walsh camped out at the line, making 23-28 free throws. In this match-up, the Eagles gained the advantage from the line, making 13-15 free throws (86.7 percent), while Walsh made 10-14 free throws (71.4 percent).

The Eagles struggled to defend the three-point arc in the first half, allowing 53.8 percent (7-13) shooting from long distance. Midway through the first quarter, the Cavaliers went on a 12-1 run to push the score to 28-19, which would be their largest lead of the night. A putback lay-up from Davis, and a floater off a missed three from senior guard Cole Krizancic (Four points, two assists) ended the Cavaliers run. That kicked off a 15-5 run by the Eagles, giving them a one-point lead after senior guard DaWuan Thomas (four points, four fouls) converted an old-fashioned three point play with a minute left in the half. 

Walsh and Ashland went back and forth briefly to start the second half before a Hamilton basket in the post broke the 41-41 tie, and ignited a 9-0 run from the Eagles, all with leading scorer Davis on the bench. From that point forward, Ashland’s lead never fell below seven.

The Eagles will begin a three-game road trip at Malone on Saturday.