WINONA LAKE, In.--- Nick Fort scored 31 points in his final game as an Asbury Eagle to lead AU past Sterling on Friday night in Winona Lake, In., in the NCCAA National Tournament, 93-80. 

Asbury (21-7) won their second game in two days with the performance on Friday to finish fifth place overall in the tournament after falling on day one . Asbury put together one of their best performances of the season, scoring 93 points on 50.7 shooting from the field and 13 made threes. 

Asbury's defense also held Sterling (17-17) to 70 points and three made threes. AU outrebounded Sterling 44-30 and dished 21 assists compared to Sterling's ten. 

Fort's 31 points came on 12-22 shooting and four made threes. The six-foot-six grad forward also grabbed 10 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the season and dished six assists. 

Sophomore Clayton Winter had a stellar night with a season-high 20 points on 10-15 shooting and 10 boards also for his fifth double-double. John Shoulders scored in the double-digits for the third straight game, adding 13 points with three three-pointers. 

Senior Lezra Means showed up in his final game for AU with seven rebounds, four assists, and four points. Dakota Walden and Caleb Wallis produced nine assists combined and five rebounds. 

The first half was dominated by Fort, dropping 18 points on 3-4 shooting from three. Sterling stil took an early 16-9 lead with 9:56 to go in the first off a Derrian Reed made three. 

AU responded with a 16-9 run over the next five minutes to tie the game at 25-25 with 4:24 remaining. 

For the second day in a row Asbury finished the first half on a tear, this time with a 17-7 run over the final four minutes of the half to go into the break up 42-32. The run was led by threes from Ben McNew and John Shoulders. 

AU came out in the second half continuing their momentum, going up 15 with 15:20 to go from a Clayton winter jumper. Winter led all scorers in the half with 16 on 8-10 shooting. 

Sterling made a push halfway through the second, cutting their deficit to 69-61 with 9:20 to go from a Derrian Reed jumper. Asbury's offense proved to be too much to handle as they finished the game on a 24-9 run in the final eight minutes. 

AU finishes their spectacular 2022-2023 season with two consecutive wins to move to 21-7 after starting the year off with a new school record of seven straight wins to begin the season.

The two wins out of three games in the National Tournament performance gives AU a fifth place finish overall in the NCCAA.


"It's been such a special season . The guys totally trusted each other and the coaches. What a great way to end the season on a winning note."
Will Shouse | Asbury Head Coach

"This was a great way to end the season and send off the seniors. This is a special team and the bonds I have made will last a lifetime. I'm proud of all we have accomplished this season!"
Nick Fort | Asbury Forward 


* Nick Fort | 31 PTS, 10 REB (18th Double-Double), 6 AST, 4 3PT
* Clayton Winter | 20 PTS (Season-High), 10 REB (5th Double-Double) 
* John Shoulders | 13 PTS, 3 3PT
* Dakota Walden | 8 PTS, 5 AST
* Lezra Means | 7 REB, 4 AST, 4 PTS
* Caleb Wallis | 7 PTS, 4 AST, 3 REB


* Asbury made 13 threes and shot over 50 percent from the field
* AU outrebounded Sterling 44-30 and had 21 team assists


* For the latest information on Asbury Athletics follow us @asburyeagles on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
* Watch our all TeamAU home games live at Asbury Sports Digital Network
* Use the links attached to the team schedules to watch live or follow live stats