AU Men's Basketball Sprints Past Lake Superior State in GLIAC Opener
December 1, 2005

By Paul Carmany, AU Sports Information

Complete Box Score

In its Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opener on Thursday (Dec. 1), the Ashland University men's basketball team put together arguably its finest performance of the season. The Eagles ran their fast break offense to perfection, blowing out Lake Superior State, 93-68, at Ronald "Bud" Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, MI.

Ashland's third straight victory lifts the team's record to 5-2 overall, 1-0 in GLIAC play. Lake Superior State remains winless at 0-4 overall, 0-1 in conference competition.

The score was close for about the first eight minutes of play. A three-pointer by Lake Superior State's Brock Bower had the Lakers down by just one, at 19-18, with 10:54 showing on the first-half clock.

AU junior guard Rob McRae, who would lead the Eagles with 18 points, then highlighted the game's decisive run. McRae scored eight points during an 18-0 Ashland run. His layup with 6:34 left before halftime gave AU a commanding 37-18 edge. Lake Superior State would get no closer than 16 for the rest of the evening.

Ashland took a 51-34 advantage into the locker room at the half. Fifteen offensive rebounds and half a dozen three-pointers highlighted the Eagles' halftime stats.

The Eagles would lead by as much as 33 points during the second half, allowing coach Roger Lyons to empty his bench. Ten of the 11 AU players got into the scoring column and five Eagles reached double figures.

In addition to McRae's 17 points, he contributed seven rebounds and four assists. Justin Brown, averaging a double-double, did nothing to hurt that statistic. He ended the evening with 17 points, 11 caroms, three blocked shots and three steals. Post mate Greg Emmons added 17 points of his own, pulling down seven rebounds along the way. Matt Engler chipped in with 12 points in just 10 minutes of action. Vahn Knight was Ashland's final double-digit scorer. He tallied 10 points and pulled down three rebounds.

Tim Van Oudheusden came off the Lakers' bench to score a game-high 21 points and lead LSSU with seven rebounds.

The 25-point victory was Ashland's largest margin of victory in a GLIAC contest since the Eagles posted a 74-49 win at Lake Superior State during the 2002-03 season. AU has now won four out of its last five meetings with the Lakers, including the last three matchups in Sault Ste. Marie.

The Eagles will seek a rare Upper Peninsula sweep on Saturday (Dec. 3) at 3 p.m., when the Eagles will face Michigan Tech. The perennially-powerful Huskies are off to a slow start this season, currently owning a 1-3 record.