Ashland University basketball suffered its first regular season loss to the hands of Central State 79-77 on Tuesday night. The game was played in Wilberforce, Ohio.

The Eagles (1-1) led most of the first half until the Mauraders (2-2) took the lead 39-38 on two free throws by Raheem Lemons with 1:02 remaining. The second half was a constant back-and-forth battle with nine lead changes. 

A layup by Wendell Davis gave the Eagles a 77-76 lead with just 44 seconds remaining. From there, a Raheem Lemons dunk and a Ledonte Body free throw gave the Maurders the advantage down the stretch.

Ashland had four players scoring double-digit points. Will Evans had 16 points and Wendell Davis added 16 off the bench to tie for the team lead in scoring. DaWaun Thomas had 15 points and Brook Turson had another 14 for Ashland. 

AU actually shot better than Central State in the game. The Eagles were 46 percent from the field while Central State shot just 41 percent. 

Where AU struggled was in the rebounding category. Ashland was outrebounded by Central State 36-33 in the game. Central State did most of their damage on the offensive boards with 15 offensive rebounds. 

Ledonte Body led the Marauders with 21 points and six rebounds. 

The Eagles’ next game will be at Kates Gymnasium on Nov. 26 against Seton Hill.