Men's Basketball Drops 69-67 Contest At Ashland

The Northwood University men's basketball team dropped tough 69-67 contest to Ashland Monday night (December 17).

The Timberwolves fall to 2-7 overall, 1-4 in the GLIAC.  Ashland stands at 3-4 overall, 2-3 in the GLIAC.

Northwood scored the first four points of the game and would lead for the majority of the first half.  The Timberwolves led by as many as six before a late rally by Ashland.  The Eagles hit a 3-pointer as the final basket of the opening half to take a 35-34 lead to the locker room.  It was Ashland's first lead of the game.

The Eagles came out strong in the second half, taking a 46-38 lead at the 16:28 mark.  But Northwood fought back over the next 13 minutes, eventually taking a 61-58 lead with 5:01 remaining in the game.  Ashland made the key play of the game with 47 seconds remaining, knocking down a triple to give them a lead they would not give up.  NU had a look a triple at the buzzer, but it would not fall, giving Ashland the two-point win. 

Free throw and 3-point shooting proved to be the keys to the Ashland win.  Northwood finished the game with advantages in field goals made (23-22), free throw attempts (29-19) and rebounding (41-32). But Ashland went 9-24 from 3-point range in the game (37.5 percent), compared to Northwood at 11.1 percent (2-18).  The Eagles also shot 84.2 percent from the foul line (16-19) while Northwood finished at 65.5 percent (19-29).

Will Bowles (East Detroit, Mich./South Lake) led the way for Timberwolves.  He finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

Northwood will play its final game of 2012 Wednesday (December 19) at Lake Erie.  Game time is set for 1 p.m.