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Opponent Scouting Report |
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Wayne State – The Warriors
begin the week with a 6-6 record, 1-3 in GLIAC play. WSU
picked up its first conference win last Saturday, stopping
Northwood, 68-52. The Warriors have won four of their last
five games. The only loss in those five games was a 78-59
setback against Southern Indiana, which is ranked among the
nation’s top five teams.
WSU is led in scoring by 6-4 senior guard
Herb Goliday. He’s averaging 14.8 ppg., and is one of
five WSU players averaging in double digits. Goliday had 15
points and nine rebounds against Northwood. Jeffrey Ferguson,
a 6-11, 240-pound junior who transferred from Missouri, is
averaging 14.3 ppg., and 6.5 rpg. The Warriors, who are
coached by David Greer, feature a heady senior in the
backcourt in 6-1 Ethan Banks. He contributes 10.2 ppg.
Ashland swept WSU a year ago, winning in
Detroit, 93-90 and at home, 77-71. The teams have divided the
last four games. AU is 2-2 in its last four trips to the
Matthei Building. Wayne State leads the all-time series,
16-15. In last year’s game at WSU, Brown had 28
points and eight rebounds and Emmons came off the
bench for 20 points and five rebounds. The AU bench outscored
the WSU reserves, 31-11 and in fastbreak points the Eagles
led, 17-2. |
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Hillsdale – Last Saturday the
Chargers fell for the first time in GLIAC play, dropping an
83-78 decision to Ferris State. HC is 8-6 overall and 4-1 in
the conference. Beginning the week, AU and Hillsdale are tied
for second place in the South Division. Before they play
Ashland, the Chargers will host GLIAC South Division leader
Findlay on Thursday (Jan. 12).
Senior guard Corey Coe leads the Chargers
in scoring at 14.1 ppg. The 6-2 Coe brings down 4.0 rpg. Drew
Powell, a 6-1 junior guard, is averaging 13.7 ppg., and a
team-best 5.1 rpg. Tim Homan, a 6-4 sophomore forward,
provides 13.2 ppg. Lately, the Chargers have received a lift
from 6-9 redshirt freshman Tony Gugino. He had 19 points, 11
rebounds and five blocked shots against Ferris State. Ed Douma
is the coach of the Chargers. His team is 2-2 in its last four
outings.
Last season, the Chargers posted a pair of
wins over the Eagles, winning in Hillsdale, 74-51 and in
Ashland, 84-79. In last year’s game at HC, Homan
had 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
AU shot 28 percent (7-of-25) in the second half and was
outscored, 37-24. Brown had 19 points and seven
rebounds for the Eagles. Against the Chargers in Ashland, the
AU center scored 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.
AU leads the all-time series with the
Chargers, 19-13. The teams have split the last four games. |
The Week Ahead
Thursday, Jan. 12 – ASHLAND at Wayne State, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 14 – ASHLAND at Hillsdale, 3
p.m.
(Both games can be heard live on WNCO 1340 AM)
About the Eagles – The Midseason
Report
They don’t execute an about-face like this at West Point.
Ashland has 12 games left in the regular
season. The Eagles are 12-3, 4-1 and tied for second place in the
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. A year ago, the
Eagles finished the season with a 13-14 card, 6-11 in conference
action. All of AU’s remaining games are conference contests.
The Eagles enter this week with a six-game
winning streak. AU has won 10 of its last 11 games. AU’s
longest winning streak a year ago was three games. This is the
Eagles’ longest winning streak since the 2002-03 Eagles began
the season by reeling off eight consecutive victories.
Ashland University head coach Roger Lyons
shares some of his insights on the season to date in the following
paragraphs.
- Biggest surprise – “The
impact of Rob McRae has brought offensive and defensive
energy to our team.”
- Most improved aspect since last season –
“I think our half-court defense. It was shaky at the
beginning and we committed to making it better. Now it’s
one of the strongest parts of our team.”
- Players who have made the greatest
strides – “Greg Emmons has made tremendous
strides, he’s a much better player than he was a year ago.
I think Javan Roberson, too. He’s come off the
bench and been a much improved player.”
- Point where you knew a turnaround was
taking place – “You never do know. I learned a
long time ago it’s game by game. Things can change easily.
But I did see us coming together at the end of last season when
we started to win on the road.”
- Biggest concerns for the second half –
“Our bench. I like our starting five. But it’s a
long season and we need our bench to perform. That’s a
question for us.”
AU Facts and Figures
Ashland continues to the GLIAC leader in scoring (79.4 ppg.). AU
is second in the conference in field goal percentage defense
(.405) and is third in scoring margin (+8.1) and rebound margin
(.6.9).
Senior center Justin Brown (Columbus,
OH/West Liberty) is second in the loop in scoring (17.7 ppg.)
and field goal percentage (.641) and third in rebounding (9.1
rpg.). Brown notched his seventh double-double (points-rebounds)
last week when he burnt Gannon for 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Brown has 519 career rebounds, that puts him ninth on the Ashland
list.
Junior forward Greg Emmons (Ashland, OH)
is fifth in the conference in rebounding (7.5 rpg.), seventh in
scoring (14.4 ppg.) and ninth in field goal percentage (.535).
Emmons has scored in double digits in 10 consecutive games. He has
three double-doubles (points-rebounds) this season. Emmons needs
one more rebound to reach 400 caroms for his career. He’s
18th on AU’s career list.
Sophomore guard Brett Bartlett (LaGrange,
OH/Kent State) is listed third in the GLIAC in three-point
field goal percentage (.474) and is tied for fifth in free throw
percentage (.833).
Junior guard-forward Vahn Knight (Euclid,
OH/Benedictine) is tied for 12th in the league in scoring
(13.0 ppg.).
Rob McRae (Flint, MI/Mott C.C.) scored
a career-high 24 points in last week’s victory over
Mercyhurst. The junior guard is averaging 12.5 ppg. McRae is this
week’s GLIAC South Division player of the week. He averaged
18.0 ppg., 5.0 rpg., and shot 52 percent from the floor. McRae is
12th in the GLIAC in steals (23/1.5 spg.).
The Line on Lyons
Lyons is in his 13th season with the Eagles. His career record
is 201-143. The Akron, OH, native is the career leader in
victories at Ashland. A 1974 Ashland graduate, Lyons has guided
the Eagles to 18 or more wins in a season five times. In
1999-2000, he directed the Eagles to a 20-9 finish. His 1987-88
team went 19-10 and advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Lyons on the Warriors
“They’re extremely good with
the ball, they can go right by you off the dribble. They’re
as good doing that as anyone we’ve seen. They also apply
pressure on the perimeter. They’re extremely tough to beat at
home.”
Lyons on the Chargers
“Along with Ferris State, they
might be playing the best basketball of any team in the league.
They do a good job of teaching and running the Princeton offense.
They do a good job there.”
Short Shots
- One of the most improved part of Brown’s
game – and the most overlooked – is his passing
ability. The AU center has 31 assists. A year ago he established
his career high – 37 in 27 games. In 2003-04, he had 14
assists in 27 contests. Through 14 games, Brown has 31 assists.
- When AU was outrebounded against Mercyhurst
last week it marked the first time since Dec. 10 against Findlay
that the Eagles lost the battle of the boards. That was a
stretch of six games.
- The Eagles are 5-0 on the road this season
and 1-1 on a neutral court.
- AU shot 50 percent (6-of-12) from
three-point range in last week’s game against Mercyhurst.
That’s the second time this season the Eagles reached that
level – they also shot 50 percent from three-point range
against Malone (9-of-18).
- Over the last six games, no team has shot
better than 43.9 percent from the floor (that was Mercyhurst
last Saturday) against AU. Five opponents in that string of
games shot less than 39 percent.
Up Next
Next week finds the Eagles back on the road for games against a
pair of GLIAC North Division foes. On Thursday (Jan. 19, 8 p.m.),
the Eagles will visit Northwood. Two days later, on Saturday (Jan.
21, 3 p.m.), the Eagles will tangle with the Saginaw Valley State
Cardinals. |
