DUBUQUE, Iowa - Senior guard Byron Emerson of Rockford, Ill., cracked the 1,000-point milestone in front of his parents and the Ashford University men's basketball team gritted its way to a road win at Clarke College on Monday, 92-85.

The Saints (14-9, 5-4 MCC) crossed over the .500 mark in Midwest Collegiate Conference play and completed the regular-season sweep over the Crusaders (3-19, 1-8 MCC). Ashford moved into solo fifth in the league standings, just 1.5 games out of first.

Junior guard Devin Ehrich of Thomson, Ill., scored all of his 15 points in the first half while recently-anointed backcourt starters Rashad Carrington of Milwaukee, Wis., and Jonathan Wyatt of Chicago combined for exactly 27 points for the second straight game.

Sophomore Matthias Burns of Chicago added 10 off the bench.

"It was critical that we come out strong and get a conference win, especially in a road environment," AU Head Coach Andy Eberhart said. "There were times where both teams got sloppy, but we were able to stay steady and make some plays down the stretch when they were needed."

Emerson finished with 15 points and scored seven straight in a decisive late run put on by the Saints. He recorded his 1,000th and 1,001st point on a three-point basket in the second half with the shot clock winding down to send the Ashford faithful into a standing ovation.

Emerson became the 10th player in school history to hit the vaunted scoring plateau, sitting at 1,006 in his career to date.

"It feels good," said Emerson afterwards. "I didn't know how close I really was to 1,000, but it's important that I go out of my senior year on a winning note for this team."

Ashford began strong again, knocking Clarke on its heels with a 7-0 run out of the gates. But the resilient Crusaders stormed back to tie at 18-all after going on an 11-4 run.

The story of the first half proved to be the longball.

Ashford and Clarke combined for 14 treys in the first 20 minutes and traded long-distance shots to the tune of a seven-point Saints' lead at the break.

Carrington scored five points out of the half to give Ashford its first double-digit lead and the Saints did plenty of damage in the paint, threatening to blow the game open on a series of inside shots.

AU opened up a 14-point second-half advantage, but it eventually evaporated as Clarke chipped away and took its first lead, 77-76, after a pair of free throws by Jonathan Warlich with 7:13 remaining.

From that point on, junior guard Mike Relerford of Rockford, Ill., and Wyatt each made a pair of free throws before Emerson's historic bucket began to put the game out of reach.

Ehrich snapped out of a recent shooting slump (6-of-25 in last three games) with a stirring display that included 6-for-6 shooting in the first half. He made all three of his tries from downtown and bounced back from a 1-for-5 showing in the Dec. 2 meeting between the two teams.

"It was huge to get that confidence and get that killer instinct to score," Ehrich said. "I was able to hit some open looks and some shots were contested, but it was a huge win for us on the road."

The 92 points was one shy of the Saints' highest offensive output on the season and AU ended the game on a 12-2 run.

The Saints return to Kehl Arena on Thursday for a home matchup against Viterbo University at 7:30 p.m.