Asbury Can't Hold Early Lead, Lose to Grenadiers
Box Score
New Albany, Ind. - Asbury couldn't hold a first half lead against Indiana Southeast on Saturday night and the Grenadiers pulled away in the second half to win easily 55-84. Asbury held the lead for the better part of the first half before a late push by IUS tied the game at 34 at the half. The Grenadiers opened the second half on a 32-8 run that left little doubt on the game's outcome.
Asbury (9-12, 1-3 KIAC) has now dropped three straight conference games after opening with a win over Cincinnati Christian back on January 12th. Asbury is now 1-7 in 2010 and has dropped four straight overall. Asbury continues to struggle scoring as they failed to break 60 points for the third time in four games. The Eagles shot only 34% for the game while IUS hit on 44% of their shots.
Jordan Noble (Corbin, Ky.) led the Eagles for the second straight game, scoring 12 points off the bench on four-of-seven shooting. Brian Johnson (Wilmore, Ky.) was also in double-figures with 10 points. Leading scorer Phillip Morrison tied a season-low with six points.
The Grenadiers were led by Jazzmarr Ferguson's 24 points, George While and Carlos Mitchell added 11 and 10 respectively. IUS shot 59% in the second half after struggling to 30% in the first half. They also connected on six-of-13 threes in the second half after making only four-of-14 in the first. Asbury was just the opposite on this night, shooting 42% in the first half and 26% in the second. The Eagles made four-of-eight threes in the first half and only one-of-nine in the second.
Asbury ended up turning the ball over 23 times which resulted in 25 Grenadier points. After a strong effort in the first half, Asbury ended up getting out-rebounded 47-39. Brian Johnson and Adam Delph led the Eagles with eight rebounds each. The Grenadiers pulled down 15 offensive rebounds and were led by Carlos Mitchell with eight.
The Eagles will return home after a four game road trip to face Brescia University on Tuesday January 26th. The men will play the second game of a double-header as the women open the night at 6:00 pm. Brescia will come to town for the first time since 2006 as they drop down into NAIA DII this year and compete for the KIAC Championship.
