Grenadiers End Asbury's Season in KIAC Title Game
NEW ALBANY, Ind. – When Adam Delph was on the floor the Eagles were the best team and when the senior wasn’t the Eagles struggled, dropping the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship game 74-62 to top-seeded Indiana Southeast on Tuesday night. The Eagles are 0-2 all-time in tournament championship games.
Asbury came out hot from the perimeter, hitting on 6-of-10 from outside in the first half, building a 41-35 lead at the break. Delph picked up his fourth with 11:37 left and the Eagles leading 52-49. That promptly led to a 11-2 run by IUS. After he returned the Eagles outscored IUS 6-5 but Delph fouled out with 3:19 to play and IUS closed on a 9-2 run. IUS outscored the Eagles 25-10 from the time Delph picked up his fourth.
Delph led all players with 21 points in his final game in an Asbury uniform, but only four in the second half as he sat with foul trouble. The Eagles cooled off from 50-percent from the field in first half to just 36-percent in the second half. IUS cooled off as well, after halftime going from 57-percent in the first half to 46-percent in the second half.
The Eagles (20-13) enjoyed a 19-13 advantage on the glass in the first half but outrebounded in the game 32-29. Dakotah Euton and Justin Jones each grabbed six for the Eagles. Euton finished with 10 points as did CJ Penny. Penny struggled from the floor, shooting a season-low 5-of-13 from the floor.
Jones leaves as the school leader in blocks with 223 as well as third in rebounds with 940, only the third player with over 900 rebounds. Delph leaves 8th all-time in scoring with 1,372 points.
The Eagles recorded just the 6th 20-win season in the school’s 22 seasons. This was the third 20-win season in Shouse’s five years. Asbury appeared in the KIAC Tournament Championship game for only the second time in school history. The Eagles also went in 2007, losing to Spalding University.
Indiana Southeast wins the KIAC's automatic bid to the NAIA II National Tournament to be held in Branson, Missouri beginning on March 6.
