Ashland University men's basketball makes 15 3-pointers in win over Trevecca Nazarene
ASHLAND — Bombs away!
Eight different Ashland University men’s basketball players made 3-pointers and senior Aaron Thompson keyed a defensive effort that ignited a 70-46 Eagles victory over Trevecca Nazarene in Great Midwest Athletic Conference play Monday afternoon at Kates Gymnasium.
As a team, AU attempted 42 long-range shots and made 15 in picking up its third consecutive win in five days.
“We’re on a tear right now,” Thompson said. “We’re trying to stay on top of things. We’ve just got to focus on us, and we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”
The Eagles (11-6, 8-3) jumped out to a 20-5 lead on six 3-pointers and two free throws. Derek Koch and Hunter Shedenhelm each made two distance shots in the opening barrage.
Ethan Conley and Thompson contributed one each as 15 of the first 16 AU shots came from behind the arc with the Eagles trying to avoid the paint presence of 7-foot-2 Brendan Newton and 6-11 Caleb Terry.
The first AU two-point attempt came nine minutes into the game when Thompson tried to score with an offensive rebound, and the first made two-point basket didn’t come until 5:06 remained in the first half.
That turned into a three-point play, too, when Thompson scored on a reverse layup and added a foul shot.
Trevecca (4-14, 1-10) did make a brief run to cut AU’s lead to 21-14, but a 15-4 Eagles surge closed out the half. Shedenhelm and Koch each finished the first 20 minutes with a third 3-pointer as AU doubled up the Trojans, 36-18, at the break.
Twenty-eight of AU’s first-half points came from behind the arc or at the free-throw line as the Eagles were 8 of 23 from distance.
“They have a shot blocker in there … and it makes it tough to score down near the bucket,” AU coach John Ellenwood said. “We know that Derek is a good 3-point shooter and was going to be open on the perimeter. We knew we would get some open shots.
“I know the shooting percentage wasn’t great, but 36% from 3 is like shooting well over 50% from two.”
The 3-point onslaught continued in the second half with contributions from Bo Furcron, Brandon Haraway, Tre Baumgardner and finally Evan Bainbridge, who knocked down two in a row to give Ashland its biggest lead at 66-32.
The Eagles finished the game with 42 of their 58 shot attempts from 3-point range, making 15. Shedenhelm, Thompson and Furcron all finished with 12 points to lead the Eagles. Koch added 11, all in the first half.
“The confidence is always going to be there,” said Shedenhelm, who made 4 of 8 3-point tries. “Practice has been going good and guys were just getting me the ball.
“The shots were falling. We got a big lead and got to get everybody into the game. It was a fun night.”
In addition to his offensive output, the always active Thompson set a single-game school record with eight steals. He got the eighth with 14:30 left in the game when he picked off a Trevecca lob attempt inside.
For the game, the AU defense forced 22 turnovers and turned them into 38 points.
“It’s crazy. It’s unexplainable,” Thompson said. “You never really think about (records). You’re just out there playing the game.
“A lot of the steals I get are built into our defensive scheme. (I’m) just trying to keep my hands active and then just being in the right spot.”
Trevecca’s CJ Penha led all scorers with 14 points, and he also snagged six rebounds. But those numbers were below his league-leading 20.7 scoring average and 10.1 rebounds per game.
“It was good to hold him below his averages,” Ellenwood said. “And we did the job on their other guys, the guys who feed off him. We didn’t make it easy for him.
“Whenever you have that kind of effort, it’s going to be tough for a team to beat you.”
The Eagles will look to keep their win streak alive with another quick turnaround, playing a G-MAC game Wednesday at Lake Erie.
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland U men's hoops shoots its way past Trevecca Nazarene
