Pride Defeated at Ashland, 84-56
ASHLAND, Ohio – The PNW men’s basketball team fell 84-56 Thursday night against the #20 Ashland Eagles. Freshman Anthony Barnard completed his second consecutive double-double effort with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
PNW kept it close early as Tim Gilmore connected on a free throw with 14 minutes remaining to cut the lead to one, the Eagles scored 14 straight points and opened up a double-digit lead at 26-11 with 9:07 remaining in the first half.
Despite a few late buckets, the Pride went into the half down by 15 at a score of 42-27. Barnard was strong throughout as he posted a line of 11 points and seven rebounds at the half.
Drew Noble had 14 points in the second half for Ashland as they continued to roll, beating the Pride by a final of 84-56. The Eagles took advantage of the boards on the day, as they were a +9 in rebounding margin and led the second chance points category 19-9. The Pride did once again own the points off the bench category, as 20 Pride points came from reserves while Ashland received just nine from those not in the starting lineup.
Head Coach Boomer Roberts
“I know the scoreboard says we lost tonight, and we are doing everything we can to prepare to win, but I’m proud of my guys for who they are as people. That showed tonight. It’s easy to have strong character when you win. My guys have it every night. I’m not trading this team for any we play. Ashland is good, and they played better than we did. AB was unbelievable tonight, but we didn’t shoot it very well outside of him and turned it over too many times.”
Up next for PNW, they wrap up the final roadtrip of 2018-19 with a visit to Detroit to take on the Wayne State Warriors Saturday, Feb. 16. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. CT from the Matthaei Center.
