Season Ends On a High Note for Eagles Men
February 28, 2004

Saturday’s (Feb.28) Ashland-Hillsdale Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball game gave new meaning to an old refrain, “Whistle While You Work.”

The three officials assigned to the Eagles-Chargers game called 63 fouls and watched as 81 free throws were unleashed. Ashland had four players foul out and Hillsdale lost two players to foul trouble.

But this didn’t end up being a lost Saturday for the Eagles. Ashland shot 75 percent (27-36) at the free throw line and got a career game from freshman center Matt Engler during a season-ending, 85-82 triumph. The Eagles complete the season with an 11-16 mark, 4-13 in the GLIAC. Hillsdale is 13-14 and 6-11.

At times, this game had as much flow as the Cuyahoga River in the midst of a February freeze. It was rare when the teams could go back and forth without play being stopped. What helped the Eagles is that they got on top early and forced the Chargers to play from behind. AU was in front, 13-5 three minutes into the game and was ahead, 23-9 with 14:36 to play in the first half. Hillsdale led twice in the contest. The Chargers’ last lead came with 12:01 to play in regulation, 58-57.

Entering Saturday’s game, the 6-9 Engler had played in seven games and averaged 5.6 minutes per game. He got 22 minutes on Saturday and hit 4-of-9 shots from the floor and 7-of-8 tries at the free throw line. Engler ended the afternoon with 15 points and eight rebounds. He eventually fouled out of the game, but he wasn’t alone in that regard. Also lost because of fouls were freshman forward Greg Emmons, freshman center Greg Mayes and junior guard Michael Fowler.

Engler shared the team lead for rebounds with sophomore forward Justin Brown. Emmons had six boards and Mayes five. The Eagles outrebounded their hosts, 47-35. About the only effective options inside for the Chargers were forward Tom Farmer and center Chris Skaggs. Farmer led all players in the game with 25 points. He had three triples in the game and was 8-of-10 at the free throw line. Skaggs came off the bench to contribute 18 points and six rebounds.

As well as the Eagles performed on the glass they were still haunted by a season-long problem – turnovers. AU gave the ball away 21 times, far more than Hillsdale (12). That helped keep the Chargers in the contest. It appeared as if AU was the fresher team, the Eagles hadn’t played since last Saturday and Hilldale was coming off a rugged game against Findlay on Thursday.

Ashland’s leading scorer was freshman point guard Alex Jones, who had 17 points. There have been many games this season when he was the lone scoring threat for the Eagles but on Saturday he had plenty of company in the scoring column. In addition to Engler’s 15 points, freshman guard Vahn Knight had 14 points and Emmons had 13 points. Emmons was good on 3-of-4 shots from three-point range. Knight was 4-for-4 at the free throw line in the final 1:45 when the issue was still in doubt. Knight’s final two charity tosses came with five seconds left. He hit both shots to give the Eagles an 84-81 edge.

Ashland shot 47.2 percent (25-53) from the floor and Hillsdale finished at 37.7 percent (23-61). AU swept the season series with the Chargers. Earlier this season in Ashland, the Eagles downed the Chargers, 76-69.