CLINTON, Iowa - It ended all too soon.
The Ashford University men's basketball team suffered its final loss of the season Wednesday night when it hosted a Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament Quarterfinal matchup as the three-seed playing host to the sixth-seeded Mustangs of Mount Mercy University. The Saints took both regular season matchups, but the Mustangs reversed their fortunes on Wednesday, upsetting Ashford by a final score of 77-74.
Milwaukee, Wis. senior Jason Landry led a quartet of Saints with double figures in the scoring column. Landry scored 18 points on five-of-eight shooting from the floor and an eight-for-eleven effort from the free throw line. Fellow seniors Jonathan Wyatt, Matthias Burns and Peter Tanzillo netted 14, 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Ashford opened the game on a 7-2 run but lost their final lead of the season with 9:51 remaining in the first half.
The contest remained within four points until the Mustangs went on a 13-5 run to close the half, taking a 36-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Mount Mercy was aided by electric shooting from the perimeter. The Mustangs shot six-of-14 (42.9%) from three-point land in the first half while recording the only fast break points, seven, of the opening twenty minutes of play.
The Saints scored the first three points following the halftime break, but saw Mount Mercy extend its lead to the largest of the game, 48-34, with 15:34 remaining in the tilt. However, less than two minutes later, a technical foul by MMU's Dominic Zanella quickly turned the momentum back in favor of the home team.
Four different AU players scored for the team as Ashford bolted back into the matchup on a 14-0 run which lasted just over four minutes to show a 50-all tie on the scoreboard with 10:16 to play in regulation.
From there, the visitors took off on a 7-2 spurt and found an answer for every Ashford bucket the rest of the way as Mount Mercy ousted the Saints from the MCC Tournament, 77-74.
The Mustangs shot 56.9% (29-of-51) from the floor for the game while holding AU to just 19% (four-of-21) from beyond the three-point arc. The Saints won the battle of the boards 29-19, which led to a 16-6 advantage in second chance points. However, Ashford turned the ball over on 15 occasions which allowed the Mustangs to score 19 points off turnovers, and outscore the home team 13-5 in fast break opportunities.
Burns paced the Saints with five assists to go along with six rebounds.
With the loss, Ashford finishes the season with a 20-11 record overall while Mount Mercy's season continues on Friday, Feb. 24 when they host the Vikings of Grand View University in a MCC Tournament Semifinal clash.
