The Ashland University men’s basketball team took a beating to Ohio Christian for game two of their five game home stretch Thursday night in a 89-57 blowout win.

Right from the tip-off the Eagles (3-0) were flying, Aaron Thompson quickly laid it up and on the ensuing possession guard Rodrick Caldwell knocked down a mid-range jumper to set the tempo early.

The Trailblazers (2-7) were no pushover in the first half, they spent the first minutes of the contest trading blows with the Eagles and were able to get up 10-6 with 14:29 left in the half.

An area of concern for Ashland coming into the game was three point shooting. The team came in shooting under 25 percent from beyond the arc.

“Right now our guys are just catching the ball and they’re not thinking shot,” Ashland University head coach John Ellenwood said, “They’re used to watching some post guys score in practice and when we get in the game people have game plans to try to take away your post play, and when they kick it out you have to be ready.”

The struggles were apparent early as the Eagles started off 0-4 from three until forward Derek Koch cashed in a three from the elbow to bring the Eagles closer.

Those struggles were magnified through Ohio Christian’s success from deep range in the first half. The Trailblazers hit eight of 16 from three, and three of those by the right arm of forward Jason Baker.

“We needed to add more pressure and sometimes you just need to get to halftime to express that,” Ellenwood said.

However in the absence of shooting, Derek Koch was present all around the court attacking the paint, grabbing rebounds, and playing stout defensively. Koch ended the first period with 15 points, six rebounds, one block, and two steals.

“They just gave me space today,” Koch said, “they were hugging the other players a little more so they gave me an opportunity and I took it.” Koch said.

His performance kept the game from getting out of hand in the midst of Ohio Christian’s sharp shooting, as the score was tied 34-34 at the end of the first twenty minutes.

The second half was a continuation of the first, both teams went back and forth landing jabs, neither showing signs of fatigue.

Then Ashland started pouring it on.

“Our defense picked up, we started getting our hands on the ball and out and running,” Koch said, “when we don’t take it out of bounds, we can get up the court a lot faster and it makes it so they can’t set up their defense.”

An 8-0 run early followed by a corner three by Jay Sloan put the Eagles up 51-42 and the Trailblazer’s inability to cash in threes exposed their dreary offensive options.

“That’s the one thing we focused on coming into the second half is just really taking away those three point shots and getting a little bit more intense on defense,” Eagle guard Aaron Thompson said.

Later on, a three by Derek Koch with four seconds left on the shot clock, along with an intercepted pass resulted in a fast break layup by Rodrick Caldwell, established a 19-point lead for Ashland.

Koch finished the night with a 22 point 12 rebound double-double along with three blocks, two steals, and four assists.

The only negative for the Eagles came with just under seven minutes left in the game when Derek Koch limped off of the court with a lower body injury after a defensive possession.

“I just jumped up for a rebound a little off-balanced and came down strictly on my right side and when my ankle started to roll I didn’t have any chance to catch it,” Koch said.

With 3:54 left in the game, the Eagles subbed out their primary unit sitting on a 75-51 lead.

In garbage time the Eagles hit four straight three pointers from guards Jay Sloan and Peyton Bennington, and forward John Brady.

Sloan went three for five from three on the night.

“Shooting’s just my job on the team so when I’m out there I’m hunting my shot, if they find me I’m trying to knock them down and they did a good job in the second half finding me in windows,” Sloan said.

The Eagles closed the game in dominating fashion after a slow start shooting nearly 59 percent from the field and out rebounding Ohio Christian 24 to 6 in the second half.

Guard Aaron Thompson came away with a double-double while standing out on both ends of the floor with 13 points and 10 rebounds along with three steals.

Thompson is averaging 11 points per contest this season, doubling his total from last year (5.2) and he attributes that to his work in the off-season.

“I was just focusing on my personal game and what I could do to help the team,” Thompson said.

Thompson said he worked on his ball handling and shooting to further develop his ability to score.

The Eagles remain undefeated but Ellenwood is convinced that his team is capable of more.

“I think we’re capable of playing harder and we still have to figure out offensively how to flow a little bit better,” Ellenwood said.

The Eagles will play host to Seton Hill University on Wednesday (Nov. 21) as they look to maintain a perfect record before conference play begins on November 29.