CLINTON, Iowa - Sophomore reserves Rashad Carrington of Milwaukee, Wis., and Jonathan Wyatt of Chicago combined for 27 points off the bench to spark the Ashford University men's basketball team over Waldorf College, 93-78, on Saturday.
The Saints (12-8 overall) evened their Midwest Collegiate Conference record to 3-3 with the win, sitting in sole possession of sixth place. The Warriors (5-11 overall) dropped back-to-back games to fall 1-5 in league play.
The game represented support of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's Pink Zone initiative.
Senior
Daniel Joiner of West Chicago,
Ill., added 11 points, whittling
the magic number to 14 to become the school's all-time leading scorer. He gets
his next chance to break the career feat on Wednesday at
Senior Byron Emerson of Rockford, Ill., inched closer to a milestone of his own, closing in on the 1,000-point mark in his career. Emerson scored 16 of his team-high 18 points in the second half to give him 962 in his tenure at Ashford.
"The group we had on the floor in the second half did a great job of putting us back in the game," AU Head Coach Andy Eberhart said. "We received great bench play and were able to keep Waldorf from getting to the basket on a consistent basis. It feels good to get back in the winning column."
The pace of the game slowed down considerably in the first half as Ashford drew enough fouls to enjoy the double-bonus with plenty of time to spare. Coming into the game third in the NAIA rankings in free-throw percentage at a 75.6 percent clip, Ashford exceeded that average by making 22-of-27 attempts from the line (81.5 percent) tonight.
Ashford or Waldorf couldn't get any kind of decisive separation in the first period, with either team leading by just four points.
Carrington hit a floater in the lane, two of his team-high nine in the first half, with one second on the clock before the break, streaking on an inbounds play at half court. The ambidextrous sophomore broke down Waldorf's defense with shooting and penetration into the lane all night.
It was a career night for Wyatt with 13 points, torching the Warriors defense with his high-arcing jumper. He spotted up from the wing and drained a pair of back-to-back threes on consecutive AU possessions in the second half.
"It was mostly a kick-and-drive because they were playing a zone defense and I happened to get both hands on the ball," said Wyatt, who had a previous career high of 11 points against Cardinal Stritch as a freshman. "The key tonight for us was our defense and communication."
Just when it appeared Waldorf was grabbing control with a seven-point edge, Ashford battled back to take the lead again, appropriate that it was capped by Wyatt pressuring Karl Dehesa into a turnover and Carrington finishing with a fast-break layup.
The Saints would never look back from there and Emerson would score 10 consecutive points within a two-minute span in the late stages, hitting a pair of free throws, back-to-back treys and a layup.
"From the beginning of this game, we wanted to raise the defensive intensity," Emerson said. "When we're just trading baskets like we did in the first half, it's hard for us to get into an offensive flow. We score off our defense most of the time."
Waldorf had a team-high 17 points from guard Chris Holloway. Karl Dehesa added 16 and Jeremy Winters chipped in 15.
Ashford
faces
