Ashland University men's basketball has 12 players score in rout of Villa Maria

ASHLAND — It seemed more like a preseason warm-up game, but Ashland University men’s basketball coach John Ellenwood wasn’t complaining after getting to see his entire team roll up an 81-48 nonleague victory over Villa Maria College Saturday at Kates Gymnasium.

The win, AU’s fifth in a row, was pretty much over after the first three minutes as the Eagles (13-6) pocketed three steals and turned them all into points for a quick 6-0 lead.

AU led 20-2 after a Brandon Haraway fast break layup following a Villa Maria turnover in the paint with 12:59 left in the opening half.

“I like the fact everybody got playing time today that was on the roster. I liked the way we shared the ball and guys were really playing for each other and sacrificing for each other,” Ellenwood said. “... Some guys that normally don’t get in the game that are kind of right on the edge of playing time, maybe they’re not getting minutes they want but now’s their time to show it for us.

“And I thought it was a good game to get us kind of clicking a little bit better and more confident going into this home stretch of February.”

Twelve Eagles scored in the game, led by sophomore guard Tre Baumgardner, who paced all players with 16 points. He added four assists and two steals as AU’s defense converted 16 turnovers into 28 points.

“That’s what we preach is defense, and as you can see our offense, we’re still working out some kinks, but the defense we’ve been preaching that since day one,” Baumgardner said. “It’s very important because our defense creates our offense. We’d rather get steals and push the ball on any team than come up and run plays and run sets.”

AU scored 18 points off of fast breaks, thanks to its defensive prowess.

“We have some great defensive players,” Ellenwood said. “They know how to get steals the right way, not gamble for them all of the time, and I think that’s key to that stat. We put some pressure on them, and that’s what you have to do in games like this to get some easy points. Your defense has to create the fast breaks.”

Unselfishness across the board proves to be key for AU

The ability to look for one another, find open looks and look inside proved to be key for AU, which racked up 23 assists and scored 46 points in the paint.

“We talked about sacrifice and games like this where you’re going into it and you can’t hide scouting reports, and our guys know if we take care of business, we should be able to help other guys on the team that normally don’t get to play get into the game,” Ellenwood said. “And that’s what our guys were playing for, and I kept stressing it is you’re playing for a guy that practices every day but doesn’t get into the game. And he sacrifices for you every single day in practice. Let’s reward him with your effort. Make the game where they can get in and where that Ashland uniform, and I think that happened.”

Bo Furcron scored 10 points for AU, while Ethan Conley chipped in eight. Evan Bainbridge, Brock Waits and Dylan Fasoyiro all added seven points.

Leading the Vikings (8-8) were Zamar Harris (13 points) and Nolan Shepherd (12).

“A game like this, it could be anybody hitting shots. Nobody was out there forcing it. We were just out there sharing the ball and having fun,” Baumgardner said. “At the start of the season, we were all trying to figure each other out. It’s a new team. The last five games on our winning streak, you could tell a lot of us have been moving the ball and working well. We’re starting to get a good feel for each other. It’s starting to come naturally, and that’s playing a big part of it.”

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland U men's hoops routs Villa Maria behind team effort