The Ashland University men’s basketball went on the road and defeated Walsh 76-71 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Thursday night.

The win — Ashland’s fifth in a row — gave the Eagles sole possession of second place in the GLIAC South Division.

Boo Osborne scored 14 points in the first five minutes of the game to give AU (12-6, 7-5 GLIAC) the early 16-7 lead.

The Eagles increased their lead to 23-11, but the Cavaliers (13-6, 6-6 GLIAC) responded with a 9-0 run.

Walsh continued battling and tied the game at 30 with 4:10 remaining until intermission.

Osborne hit his fifth triple in the final seconds of the half, giving Ashland a 40-37 advantage at the half. He finished with 19 points in the half and led both teams with 23 for the game.

Adrian Cook made two free throws to give the Eagles a 52-43 lead with 13:32 remaining, and Ashland led 57-50 with just under 10 minutes left in the game.

The Cavaliers continued fighting and chopped the AU lead to 57-55.

The Eagles got out of their shooting funk — a stretch that lasted four minutes — and extended their lead to 68-59.

Walsh was unable to respond, and Ben Haraway sank two free throws for the final Ashland points.

Osborne shot 6-for-8 from behind the arc, while Marsalis Hamilton chipped in 17 points and six rebounds.

Also contributing for AU were Torin Wetzel (9 points) and Cook (8).

Jameel Moore paced the Cavaliers with 21 points, while Zac Carter (20 points) and Trey Fletcher (17) also contributed.

The Eagles shot 49 percent from the field and hit 50 percent of their 3-pointers.

AU will take on Findlay on Saturday at home.