Eagles Men Hold Down the ‘Hurst, 81-63
February 1, 2003

Complete Box Score

Take a deep breath and say “aah.”

It’s been some time since the Ashland University Eagles were on the front end of a major blowout. But for the time being, the Eagles look to be in perfect health. Saturday (Feb. 1) at Kates Gymnasium, the hale and hearty Eagles blew out Mercyhurst, 81-63, winning their second consecutive game.

Sophomore center Mike Campbell had 14 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and three steals and senior guard Isaac Kincaid fired in 19 points as Ashland (15-6, 7-5 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) controlled play from start to finish.

The visitors led just once all afternoon, taking a 6-5 lead 2:29 into the game. The Eagles went on a 7-0 run to take a 13-5 lead with 14:14 remaining in the first half. Ashland was in front, 43-32 at halftime.

The Eagles shot 53.8 percent (14-26) in the first half. Kincaid scored 13 of his points over the first 20 minutes. Kincaid and AU’s other senior guard, Angelo Edwards, combined for 37 points. Edwards, in addition to scoring 18 points, had eight assists.

Senior forward Justin Larrick added 15 points for AU and senior swingman Tom Church had 13 points and seven rebounds.

AU did a commendable job in limiting the damage done by MC’s junior forward Josh Helm. Helm entered the weekend averaging just over 18 points a game. He had 11 points and seven rebounds Saturday.

Mercyhurst (12-10, 4-8) was paced by center Scott Melle, who led all players in the game with 22 points. Melle also had seven rebounds. Point guard Justin Shouse added 15 points and six assists for the Lakers.

The ‘Hurst won Saturday’s battle of the boards, 39-37 and the turnovers were nearly even – 18 for Mercyhurst, 17 for AU. For the second straight game, the Eagles played extremely well defensively. Mercyhurst shot 41.8 percent (28-67) from the floor and had six second-chance points. Thursday, Gannon managed to shoot only 35.8 percent (19-53) from the field.

Campbell is now averaging 9.8 rpg. He’s also good for 10.0 ppg., and has rejected 41 shots. Kincaid is averaging 18.9 ppg.

The Eagles will return to action on Feb. 8 at Findlay. That GLIAC contest will tip off at 3 p.m.