Emmons, Knight Fuel AU Men's Attack Against Cougars
November 17, 2005

Complete Box Score

It’s not often that Ashland High School class reunions are held an hour down the road in Mount Vernon, OH. Such was the case Thursday night (Nov. 17) when two former AHS standouts met at Mount Vernon Nazarene.

Ashland University’s junior forward Greg Emmons scored a career-high 29 points as the Eagles improved to 2-0 with a 94-88 triumph over Mount Vernon Nazarene (4-2). Some of those Emmons points came over his former AHS teammate, Mark Hess. Hess also had a productive night with 22 points and eight rebounds.

Hess scored eight of the Cougars’ first 10 points. Early in the game, the Cougars were able to open up the floor and run. The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw the Eagles take a 45-42 lead to the locker room. AU shot 53 percent (19-36) in the first half. Emmons had 19 points over the first 20 minutes.

Ashland took control of the game in the early stages of the second half. The Eagles held the Cougars without a field goal for the first 9:06 of the second half. By that time, AU had constructed a 13-point lead. MV’s first field goal was a three-pointer by Ben Falkenberg with 10:54 to play in regulation. His trey cut the Ashland lead to 63-53.

The Cougars got as close as three points twice, the last time with 4:13 to play. Ashland answered every Mount Vernon surge thanks in large part to junior guard-forward Vahn Knight. Knight scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half. He was 7-for-11 from the field, 3-for-3 from three-point range. Knight’s line also included a 7-for-8 performance at the charity stripe.

Emmons was 4-for-8 from three-point range. Ashland ended the game shooting 46 percent (31-67) from the field. The Eagles outrebounded Mount Vernon, 43-38.

Falkenberg had 24 points to pace the Cougars. Andrew Thompson and Connor Gregg had 10 points apiece. AU also received 13 points and nine rebounds from senior center Justin Brown and 11 points and eight rebounds from junior guard Rob McRae. McRae kept alive several AU possessions by chasing down long rebounds. He and sophomore guard Brett Bartlett had six rebounds apiece.

This is the second consecutive season the Eagles have downed the Cougars. Last year in Ashland, the Eagles were an 81-53 winner.

AU will host Saint Joseph’s on Saturday (Nov. 19) at 3 p.m. The Pumas are off to a 2-0 start with victories over Ferris State and Upper Iowa.