COLUMBUS, Ohio – Tied at 59 late, Ohio Dominican's men's basketball team was outscored 16-9 over the final five minutes as No. 18 Ashland escaped Alumni Hall with a 75-68 win Thursday night in GLIAC play.

Senior Chad Nelson (Columbus, Ohio) led ODU with 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting and also handed out five assists. Classmate Trent Weaver (Columbus, Ohio) tallied 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and also grabbed eight rebounds.

The Panthers (9-17, 6-14 GLIAC) had a pair of six point leads early in the second half as sophomore Ronnie Williams (Columbus, Ohio) hit back-to-back threes and Weaver scored inside to put the Panthers up 41-35 with 15:54 to play.

Ashland responded with a 12-0 run, though, as ODU went 4:34 without a basket.

The Panthers hung close, however, as Nelson scored the Panthers' next eight points to keep ODU within five, and two free throws by sophomore Adam Cytlak (Van Buren, Ohio) and a three-point play by Weaver knotted it at 59 with 4:56 left.

Ashland scored seven of the next nine, though, to regain a 66-61 advantage. Williams knocked down a short jumper to bring ODU within 66-63 with 2:37 left, but Ashland made a layup at the other end and ODU would never be within one possession again.

Williams scored 11 points, sophomore Mike DeLeon (Powell, Ohio) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and Cytlak pulled down seven boards for the Panthers.

The Panthers shot 45.6 percent from the field (26-of-57), including 15-of-28 (53.6 percent) in the second half.

There were five ties and eight lead changes in the first half, which saw Ashland take a 29-28 lead into the locker room. A pair of Cytlak free throws gave ODU its biggest lead of the half, 23-18, with 5:53 left, but Ashland scored 11 of the next 13 points to help take the halftime lead.

Ohio Dominican remains at home to play host to Lake Erie at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu