CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio – The Asbury University men's basketball team outscored Ohio Christian 52-41 in the second half to pull away 87-77 on the road in the RSC Championship opening round.
Asbury improves to 15-5 with the victory and will return to the Luce Center on Wednesday evening with a matchup in the quarterfinals against Point Park at 7:30 PM.
Key Stats
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Nick Fort scored a career-high 27 points on 12-21 shooting to lead all scorers. The junior also brought in a team-best eight rebounds and four blocks.
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Eric Powell notched 26 points on 7-13 shooting with five rebounds. Powell was also 8-11 from the free throw line.
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Leander Ridgeway added 14 points on 50 percent shooting with five rebounds and three assists.
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Jamiel Goliday finished with nine on 3-6 shooting from the floor. Asbury shot 51 percent altogether as a team on Monday, finishing 31-60.
*The Eagles knocked down seven three-point field goals and scored 26 points off turnovers.
*In addition, AU forced 17 turnovers and tallied 11 steals.
Highlights
*Ridgeway paced the Eagles' offensive attack with nine points on 4-6 shooting in the first 10 minutes of play.
*A back and forth first half saw the game tied at 26 with under six minutes left in the half. AU's offense remained efficient and effective from the field, shooting 50 percent.
*Trailing 33-30 late in the half, a three from Ridgeway and a basket inside from Fort gave the Eagles a 35-33 lead.
*OCU would hit a three at the buzzer to take a 36-35 lead at halftime.
*In the second half, the Eagles' offense relied heavily on
Nick Fort and
Eric Powell, who combined for 53 points in the victory on Monday night.
*AU used a 12-7 run to retake the lead at 58-53 capped off by a three from Powell with 11 minutes left.
*With 7 minutes remaining, the Eagles were behind 65-64, but back-to-back threes from Goliday and Fort boosted AU ahead 70-65, as they would keep the lead for good the remainder of the night.
*Asbury's defense stepped up late and made several key stops. Powell's three ball with under a minute remaining gave the Eagles their largest lead of the night at 86-74.
Next Up
Asbury will host Point Park on Wednesday at 7:30 PM in the River States Championship quarterfinal round.
