Nationally-Ranked Eagles Men's Basketball Team Wins at Tiffin, 86-67
December 18, 2002

Complete Box Score

Tuesday became “Twosday” for the Ashland University basketball team.

On Tuesday (Dec. 17), the Eagles visited Tiffin and improved to 8-0 with an 86-67 win over the Dragons. The win was AU’s second this season over the Dragons (0-6). Earlier in the year at Kates Gymansium, Ashland downed Tiffin, 74-65.

The win over Tiffin wasn’t the only positive for the Eagles on Tuesday. The first NCAA Division II Top 20 poll of the year was released that same day and AU is ranked 17th.

That national ranking didn’t help the Eagles in the first half Tuesday at the Gillmor Student Center. Ashland led by just a point, 35-34 at the break. Tiffin used a long-range shooting game to stay close to the stronger, faster Eagles. The home team nailed four of seven shots from three-point range (57.1 percent) in the first half and that helped neutralize AU’s advantage on the glass (24-14 in favor of AU). The Eagles didn’t shoot well in the first half either, hitting 15 of 38 shots (39.5 percent) from the floor.

The second half was a different story. The Eagles were able to open up the floor and run down the Dragons. Over the last 20 minutes, AU shot 54.8 percent (17-31) from the field and outscored Tiffin, 51-38. Senior guard Isaac Kincaid scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to fuel the AU attack. Kincaid also had six rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

Senior guard-forward Tom Church had 13 points and six rebounds and senior forward Justin Larrick had 12 points and nine boards. Sophomore center Mike Campbell had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. A year ago at Tiffin, Campbell pulled down 20 rebounds.

Senior Kenny Salway had 14 points and six rebounds to lead the Dragons.

Ashland ended the game with a 47-20 advantage on the backboard. The turnovers were nearly even, AU giving the ball away 21 times while Tiffin had 20 giveaways. The Eagles were outstanding from the free throw stripe, dropping in 17 of 21 attempts (81 percent).

AU will play at Lincoln Memorial on Saturday (Dec. 21, 2 p.m.). Earlier this season, LMU knocked off nationally-ranked Carson-Newman.