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Opponent Scouting Report |
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The only GLIAC team averaging more
points per game that the Oilers is Ashland – UF is good
for 75.2 ppg. Findlay is also the league leader in field goal
percentage (.501) and steals (10.5 spg.). The Oilers are
second in scoring margin (+14.2) and turnover margin (+4.62).
Senior guard Dustin Pfeifer is one of the
most dynamic players in the conference. He’s the GLIAC
leader in steals (79/3.04 spg.), is third in assists (5.35
apg.), fourth in assist-turnover ratio (1.70) and ninth in
scoring (14.2 ppg.). The 5-9 Pfiefer is Findlay’s leading
scorer.
Junior forward Frank Phillips, out all of
last season due to injury, has returned to average 13.0 ppg.
The 6-4 Phillips is shooting .563 percent from the floor,
fifth best in the league. He’s sixth in steals (43/1.87).
Brent Schnipke, a 6-8 junior center, is
fourth in the conference in field goal percentage
(.579/84-145). Schnipke also averages 4.8 rpg. Josh Bostic, a
6-5 freshman forward, pulls down 5.5 rpg., and is shooting 53
percent (87-164) from the floor.
The Oilers, who have won their last two
games – against Gannon and Mercyhurst – are coached
by Ron Niekamp. He’s in his 21st season on the Oiler
bench and has won 455 games.
Ashland and Findlay played on Dec. 10 at
Kates Gymnasium. Findlay got 19 points from Pfeifer, 17 from
Schnipke and 16 from Phillips in an 80-65 triumph. The Eagles
received 15 points and 12 rebounds from Emmons. Brown was AU’s
leading scorer with 17 points. McRae and Bartlett hit for 11
points apiece.
Findlay has beaten Ashland eight straight
times. The last time the Eagles got the better of the Oilers
was at UF’s Croy Gymnasium, 92-80 in the 2001-02 season.
Findlay leads the all-time series, 42-21. |
The Week Ahead
Saturday, Feb. 25 – ASHLAND at Findlay, 3 p.m.
All games can be heard live on WNCO 1340 AM.
The games are also Webcast
About the Eagles
AU (18-8/10-6 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) has
won its last two games and both have come against regionally
ranked foes – Mercyhurst (#9) and Northern Michigan (#10 last
week). Now the Eagles have the opportunity to pick off Findlay,
ranked fourth in the region and 10th in the country.
The Oilers (23-3/14-2) sit in first place in
the GLIAC South Division and are still in contention for the top
seed in the league tournament.
Ashland has clinched second place in the GLIAC
South Division and will host third place Mercyhurst on Tuesday
(Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.) in a first-round GLIAC tournament game. The
survivor of that contest advances to the GLIAC Final Four, which
will be played on Friday-Saturday, March 3-4, on the home floor of
the top seed.
AU Facts and Figures
Senior center Justin Brown enters his final regular season
game third in career rebounds (637) at AU. Second place belongs to
Chris Keshock (649). Brown is second in the GLIAC in rebounding
(9.8 rpg.) and field goal percentage (.601). He’s the GLIAC’s
fourth leading scorer (16.8 ppg.).
Junior guard-forward Vahn Knight (Euclid,
OH/Benedictine) averages 13.8 ppg., and that puts him 12th in
the conference in scoring. Junior forward Greg Emmons
(Ashland, OH) is sixth in the conference in rebounding (7.2
rpg.) and 16th in scoring (13.0 ppg.).
Sophomore guard Brett Bartlett (LaGrange,
OH/Kent State) is third in the GLIAC in three-point field
goals per game (55/2.2 per game) and free throw percentage (.828).
He’s fourth in three-point percentage (.444). Bartlett had
six treys in Monday’s 75-70 win over Northern Michigan.
Junior guard Rob McRae (Flint, MI/Mott
C.C.) is 12th in the conference in steals (37/1.42 spg.).
Ashland is the highest scoring team in the
conference, scoring 76.9 ppg. The Eagles are third in rebound
margin (+5.7) and fourth in scoring margin (+4.3).
AU enters the UF contest with a two-game
winning streak, winning at Mercyhurst (Feb. 18), 77-69 and then
stopping Northern Michigan (Feb. 20) at home, 75-70. Ashland is
2-2 in its last four games. In GLIAC South Division games this
year, the Eagles are 5-4.
The Line on Lyons
Lyons is in his 13th season with the Eagles. His career record
is 207-148. 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 six 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.
Short Shots
- AU has qualified for the league tournament
for the first time since the 2002-03 campaign. The last time AU
placed second in the division was in 1999-2000.
- Bartlett has 55 three-point field goals,
the most by an IUP player since Isaac Kincaid fired in 56 in
2000-01.
- AU has made 36 three-point field goals over
the last four games. During that stretch, the Eagles are
shooting 39 percent from three-point range.
- Over the last two seasons, AU is 6-5 in
February.
- The Eagles are 9-2 on the road this season.
The last time AU won nine road games in a season was in 2001-02
(9-3). The last two seasons combined, the Eagles won eight road
contests (8-14).
Up Next
Ashland hosts a first-round GLIAC playoff game against Mercyhurst
on Tuesday (Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m.). |
