Eagles Shoot Past Bobcats, 95-83
November 29, 2003

Long distance runner know that when energy is lacking a Power Bar or a drink of Gatorade can do wonders.

Saturday (Nov. 29) afternoon in Buckhannon, WV, when the Ashland University Eagles needed a boost of energy, AU head coach Roger Lyons turned to his bench for an energy boost. The first five players off the pine ignited a furious AU attack that paved the way for a 95-83 win. AU is 3-2 and has won three straight games.

In the opening minutes of Saturday’s game, the hometown Bobcats appeared anything like a team that had lost its first five games. The ‘Cats looked quick and forced the Eagles into a couple of turnovers. Just 2:17 into the game, Wesleyan was in front, 7-0.

That’s when Lyons went to his bench, inserting freshman guards Alex Jones, Javan Roberson and Mark Church, junior forward Kevin Shorter and rookie center Greg Mayes. Maybe Lyons saw that trick work in hockey – he did coach professionally in Calgary years ago. Wherever he got the idea, it won’t be disappearing anytime soon.

That second five gave the Eagles a lift in a number of ways. They got the game under control – for the Eagles. After that opening burst, the ‘Cats were outscored, 47-24 the rest of the half. Ashland led at the break, 47-31.

Shorter was tenacious on the glass, ending the game with a team-high 12 rebounds. Mayes had nine points, hitting four of six shots from the floor and pulled down eight rebounds.

The starters, given a chance to regroup, came back with a vengeance. Junior point guard Michael Fowler sliced up the ‘Cats with 23 points and 12 assists. On Tuesday against Wilberforce, Fowler had 10 assists.

Fowler was one of four Eagles to reach double digits in scoring. Freshman guard Vahn Knight canned six of eight shots from the floor on the way to a 16-point afternoon. Sophomore center Justin Brown had 12 points and eight rebounds and freshman forward Greg Emmons battled through the flu bug to score 10 points.

No matter who was in the game, AU’s defensive pressure took its toll on the Bobcats. Wesleyan shot just 32.4 percent (11-34) in the first half. The Eagles owned the paint. Brown and Mayes were a combined 10 of 14 shooting and Ashland outrebounded the home team, 54-40.

That kind of effort must have unsettled the Bobcats a good bit. The second half started with Fowler shooting a pair of free throws thanks to a technical foul on the ‘Cats. Those charity tosses came because Wesleyan was late coming back on the floor for the second half.

Things could only get better for the ‘Cats after that. Wesleyan did work the AU lead down in the final minutes, getting within 10 points of the Eagles. Jelani Walker led that charge, finishing with 25 points and 15 rebounds. He did a lot of his damage at the free throw line where he was 11 of 18. Ashland had two players – Emmons and Brown – foul out of the game.

Ashland’s next game will be on Thursday (Dec. 4), when Grand Valley State comes to town for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener.