The three game skid came to a halt for the Ashland boys' basketball team (4-8, 2-5) in a 67-31 win over OCC rival West Holmes (1-8, 0-7), led by Isaac Stewart’s 15 point performance.
It was all Arrows from the start, with Ashland jumping out to a 27-10 lead in the first quarter. They continued to tromp the Golden Knights in the second quarter, outscoring West Holmes 16-4 to take a 43-14 lead at halftime. Both teams scored 10 points in the third quarter, and then Ashland had a 14-7 advantage in the fourth quarter to finish the game strong.
Ashland shot 49% and 31.6% from three, and held West Holmes to 31.1% and 11.1% from three. The Arrows were 13-for-17 from the free throw line, and they did a good job not fouling shooters. West Holmes was 2-for-3 for foul shots. Ashland also capitalized off the 23 turnovers forced, with 31 points off turnovers in the win.
The Arrows led 30-22 in rebounds, 8-2 in assists, and 11-6 in assists.
Stewart was 6-for-13 shooting and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc to lead Ashland. He had two boards, an assist and a steal. Paxon Ediger had 13 points, four boards, three assists and two steals. Nathan Bernhard had 11 points, five rebounds and one assist. Tyler Sauder had nine points, three rebounds, one assist and a steal. Keith Bowman scored seven points, and recorded on steal and one rebound.
Gabe Baith put up six points, three rebounds, three steals and an assist, while Reed Emmons had six points and four boards.
West Holmes Coach Ben said the team got off to a really slow start, with a lot of unforced errors before they were able to adjust, slow themselves down and get into a groove. He hopes the game will show that they need to focus on fundamentals to execute at a high level.
Leading West Holmes was Nate Fair, with 13 points, five rebounds and two steals. Collier Cline had eight points, one rebound and one steal. Manny Camacho and Sam Sprang each had three points, and Wyatt Schlauch and Koyer Miller had two points apiece.
“Nate Fair has been outstanding,” said Belden. “We have battled some injuries and other bumps and bruises over the course of the past few weeks, but Nate has been a consistent example of how to play hard and have a positive outlook, despite some bad circumstances.”
