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Saint Joe’s
Ends AU Title Streak |
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Bob Seeger sings about old time rock and roll. Corey Seegers of the Saint Joseph’s College basketball team led an attack that rocked the Ashland University Eagles and he was the anchor as the Pumas rolled to the championship of the Seventh Annual AmeriHost Classic on Monday, Dec. 29, at AU’s Kates Gymnasium. Seegers scored 16 points to lead a balanced attack that saw five players score 10 or more points and Saint Joseph’s (4-6) defeated Ashland, 89-79. In Monday night’s consolation contest, Lincoln Memorial held off Slippery Rock, 71-70. The title game loss snapped a three-game Ashland win streak and marked the first time in tournament history that the Eagles (6-7) didn’t claim the event’s championship. Saint Joseph’s roared out to an 11-4 lead in the first six minutes, but Ashland recovered and led at halftime, 38-32. In the second half, Saint Joseph’s shot 60 percent from the floor (18-30) and 62.5 percent from three-point range (5-8). The Pumas took the lead for good with 18:08 to go in regulation on a three-point field goal by Marvin Smith. That gave the visitors a 44-43 lead. SJC went on a 13-4 run on the next 4:29 to put the game away, leading 57-47 with 12:43 to play. Junior point guard Michael Fowler had 19 points and seven assists to lead Ashland. Junior forward Kevin Shorter had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard-forward Mark Church played his second consecutive strong game and had 13 points. Freshman forward Greg Emmons and freshman guard Alex Jones both had 10 points. In addition to Seegers, the Pumas got 12 points apiece from Jamie Holden, Greg Muller and Brandon Turner. Holden, the SJC point guard, also had six assists and a steal. Smith rounded out the SJC double digit scorers with 10 points. In the consolation game, Lincoln Memorial’s Ike Poe hit a jumper with 10 seconds left to send Lincoln Memorial (5-6) past Slippery Rock (3-8). Slippery Rock had the ball as time expired, but a steal by LMU’s Aaron Squirewell sealed the victory. Lincoln Memorial led by 10 points at halftime and had a 15-point advantage with 10 minutes left in regulation. Slippery Rock’s Bill Johnson led the Rock’s comeback, scoring 14 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. |