ASHLAND — It had been 10 years and one day since last time the Ashland University men’s basketball team played the West Virginia Weslyan Bobcats.
AU came up short a decade ago, losing 69-62. But it was sweet revenge for the Eagles Monday night, with a convincing victory over the Bobcats, 76-40.
The game was won and lost in the paint. The Bobcats love pounding the glass with Division I transfer Aaron Ariri. But AU’s Drew Noble wasn’t having any of that, forcing Ariri into early foul trouble.
In the first half, Noble went 4-5 from the field, along with 9 rebounds and 4 steals. Ashland carried a 28-16 lead into halftime.
“We didn’t know they were going to run a 3-2 zone. Last game they ran a 1-3- 1,” said Ashland head coach John Ellenwood.
With less than 10 minutes to play, Marsalis Hamilton kept applying pressure, got a steal, and passed to teammate Wendell Davis for an easy layup. The Bobcats quickly called a timeout after the crowd’s loud reaction, the score was 56 to 24.
“To me, I just think it’s a championship mindset. You have to pay attention to details, whether you’re up 30 or you’re up by two. Championship teams don’t take anyone for granted, they play hard throughout the whole game,” Davis said.
During a blowout, it can be difficult for coaches to keep the players focused.
“Coaches always want their guys to play hard every possession. I always tell these guys, you have to play for the guys on the bench. Because if you can get up, those guys get more minutes at the end of the game. I don’t want to waste a possession. You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. I don’t want to get worse,” said Ellenwood.
It can also be a lot easier to keep the team hungry when the players are on board and buy into the plan. The key is to get the other team out of their comfort zone.
“Just try and be aggressive, make a guy do things he doesn’t want to do. Picking him up, full court, he didn’t like it as much, I ended up getting one steal on alertness plays,” Hamilton said.
The Eagles are now on a four-game win streak, a welcome turnaround after losing back-to- back games Nov. 30 at Lake Superior St. and Dec. 2 at Ferris St.
Ellenwood hopes the momentum will continue, and when asked what he wants from his team for Christmas, he said, “A championship mindset, that we’re going to attack in January and February, so we can play in March.”
The Eagles return to the hardwood Saturday Dec. 30 at 3 p.m. against Thiel.
Coverage of Ashland University Eagles athletics is produced in partnership with OhioHealth, the official sports medicine provider for Ashland University.
