|
Balanced Warriors
Stop Eagles, 70-59 |
|
For one night, the Wayne State Warriors were the “Good Hands People.” In 40 minutes of basketball against Ashland on Thursday night (Feb. 19) at Kates Gymnasium, the Warriors has just six turnovers. Over the last 20 minutes, WSU gave the ball away twice. That gave the Warriors plenty of insurance as they came from behind to beat the Eagles, 70-59. The Warriors also took apart the Eagles with an attack that saw five players score in double digits. At times, the Eagles weren’t sure who, or what, was coming at them. Kendall LeSure was the points leader, he came off the bench to score 12 points for the Warriors (14-10/9-6 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference), who remain in the race for a GLIAC tournament playoff berth. Herb Goliday and Kendon Edwards had 11 points apiece and Oscar Sander and Darrell Evans contributed 10 points each. Ashland (10-15/3-12) scored the game’s first seven points and had an eight-point lead, 27-19 with 6:33 left in the first half. That pattern was established last Saturday when the Eagles jumped out in front of Gannon, 6-0, and then struggled to maintain that level of play. Thursday night, Wayne State battled back and trailed by a point, 32-31 at the intermission. The Warriors claimed the lead for good, 47-46 on a free throw by Goliday with 12:33 remaining in regulation. Wayne State’s ability to hold onto the basketball helped offset a decided Ashland advantage on the boards. The Eagles outrebounded the visitors, 39-29. Ashland freshman point guard Alex Jones had 18 points to lead all players in the game. AU freshman forward Greg Mayes pulled down 10 rebounds. Jones was the only AU player to reach double digits in scoring. Thursday’s victory gave the Warriors a sweep of the season series. In Detroit on Jan. 29, WSU downed the Eagles, 78-62. Ashland will host Findlay on Saturday (Feb. 21) at 3 p.m. |