Men's Basketball Can't Stay with No. 11 Indiana Southeast
WILMORE, Ky. – A furious first half comeback was spoiled by No. 11 Indiana Southeast as the Grenadiers came away with a 85-70 win over Asbury in KIAC action on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles overcame a 17-point first half deficit to take the lead in the second half but IUS was able to pull away late for the win.
Asbury (18-11, 9-5 KIAC) trailed 33-16 with eight minutes left in the first half but closed the period on a 18-5 run to go into the break down 38-34. The Eagles scored the first six points in the second half to take a two point lead, their first of the game. But that was short lived as the Eagles regained the lead for the final time at 46-45. The Grenadiers (23-4, 13-1 KIAC) answered with a 19-2 run that put the game out of reach at 64-48 with eight minutes left. The lead reached 20 and never dipped under 10 the rest of the way.
The Grenadiers were led by Jake Simpson’s game-high 24 points. Kegan Clark added 22 and Cameron Mitchell scored 18. Asbury was led by Austin Flannery’s hot shooting as the junior guard knocked down 4-of-7 from downtown and finished with a team-high 19 points. Adam Delph added 17 points and CJ Penny (14) and Shawn Brauner (10) were also in double figures for the Eagles.
Asbury shot 44-percent from the floor in the game while IUS made half of their 64 field goal attempts. Both teams shot exceptionally well from outside as the Eagles made 11-of-23 from beyond the arc and IUS made 10-of-15. The Grenadiers dominated on the glass, pulling in 47 rebounds to just 24 for the Eagles.
IUS had already wrapped up their sixth straight KIAC title before the game and will be the top seed in the tournament set to begin on February 23. Asbury will be either the second or third seed depending on the outcome of their game with Indiana East on Tuesday. The winner will be the second seed and host Brescia on 2/23. If Asbury loses they will be the third seed, owning the tiebreaker (if necessary) over Cincinnati Christian. Alice Lloyd is locked into the eighth seed and Brescia is the seventh seed. The 4-5-6 seeds will be determined after Tuesday’s games.
Asbury’s game on Saturday will be at 7 pm, no matter the opponent. The semifinals and finals of the KIAC Tournament will be hosted by IUS on February 25-26.
