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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Dominican men's basketball team continues Great Midwest action on the road this week at Ashland and Tiffin.

The Panthers first travel to face Ashland at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 20. ODU then stays north with a 3 p.m. tip at Tiffin on Saturday, Jan. 22.

OPENING TIP-OFF

• Ohio Dominican closes out a long road stretch with eight-of-nine away games this week with trips to Ashland and Tiffin.
• This week also marks the beginning of the second round of G-MAC games for ODU this winter. 
• Ohio Dominican is coming off losses to G-MAC leading Malone and Walsh last week. 
• In the performance against Malone on Thursday, Jan. 13, Alek West (Sylvania, Ohio) tied  a single game program record with 12 assists. 
• West notched his second double-double of the season during the Malone contest, registering 10 points to go with his assist total.
• Zach Szul (Waterville, Ohio) has scored in double figures in four straight games entering play this week.
• Szul is averaging 15.8 points per game over the stretch and had a season-high four steals in both appearances last week. 
• Arius Jones (Lansing, Mich.) returned to the lineup, starting both games last week, his first appearance in back-to-back games since mid-November. 
• Jones tallied 14 points  and 15  rebounds over the games versus Malone and Walsh.
• Under head coach Kelly Winter, the Panthers are 0-2 against Ashland, and versus Tiffin are 2-3, but ODU is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings against the Dragons. 

ABOUT ASHLAND

• Ashland enters play this week with an 8-6 overall record and 5-3 mark in Great Midwest action. 
• The Eagles went 1-1 last week, including a road win at Hillsdale, 53-52.
• Ashland is 4-1 at home this winter, but its lone loss came last time out to Findlay, 56-54. 
• AU's last five games have all been decided by four points or less or gone to overtime, a stretch the Eagles have gone 3-2 in. 
• The Eagles rank among the top 25 nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 64.8 points per game. 
• Four players are averaging double figures, led by Aaron Thompson at 13.2 points per game.
• Thompson will look to become the second player in AU history to join the 1,000 point-1,000 rebound club, entering play this week with 1,337 points and 964 rebounds. 
• Derek Koch and Brandon Haraway are also averaging over 11 points per game, with Haraway leading the Eagles with 3.7 assists per game.

ABOUT TIFFIN

• Tiffin has dropped all five of its games since the calendar turn to 2022 and is 5-10 overall.
• The Dragons are 1-7 in conference play this winter and are 0-5 against G-MAC foes in January. 
• When Tiffin hosts ODU on Saturday, it will mark the Dragons fifth game in a 10-day stretch.
• Tiffin is 3-3 at home this season, but have dropped both of its games in the Gillmor Student Center in January to Kentucky Wesleyan and Hillsdale. 
• The Dragons rank second in the G-MAC in scoring offense, 78.4 points per game. 
• Luke Johnson leads ODU in points (12.5) and assists (4.0) per game, while shooting 63 percent from the field. 
• Morgan Taylor and Tanner Johnson are both giving the Dragons over 11 points and four rebounds per outing. Taylor led TU with 16 points in the first meeting against ODU. 

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu