Photos by Reuben Crisler
The AU Ravens men’s and women’s basketball teams hosted a double-header against Mount St Joseph (MSJ) Saturday afternoon at O.C Lewis Gymnasium.
The first game, which was the women’s, saw the Ravens defeat the Lions 77-64. The team moved to 12-8 (8-5 in the conference), and have now won six of their last seven games.
The men’s game also resulted in a Raven victory. AU defeated MSJ 76-61 to end the MSJ five game winning streak. The Ravens jumped into a five-game tie for 1st in the HCAC conference standings. The Ravens men’s team is now 11-9 (9-4 in conference).
WOMENS
Before the game, senior Izzy Davis was honored for a career accomplishment of 1,000 points. This fueled her performance because she had 9 points in the first quarter to give AU a 16-13 lead. Momentum continued for AU into the second quarter, Paige Williamson nailed a three with 3 seconds left, then on the inbound pass, the ball got batted around and went into freshman Julia Hoffman’s hands, to which she turned around and hit a wild shot at the buzzer. In the second half, the Ravens continued great defense, to close the game with a 77-64 win.
When asked about the key to victory, coach Jon Gin said, “Defense, we made them shoot from outside and did a really good job at rebounding.” The Ravens out-rebounded MSJ by seven, Izzy Davis had 8.
“She plays with great passion, and you saw it on the defensive end today,” said Gin.
Davis led the Ravens with 23 points, along with 8 rebounds, she had 3 assists, 2 steals, and a beautiful block that led to a fastbreak basket with a foul. Sydney Sierta had 15 points and 7 rebounds, she had a great game and improved the offensive pace for the Ravens. Other scorers include Paige Williamson with 12, Lauren Smith with 11, and Bella Larrison with 7. The Ravens shot 38.3% from the field and 41.2% from three. They beat the Lions in rebounds, assists and steals.
For the MSJ Lions, senior Morgan Jenkins had 21. She passed 1,000 points accomplishment late in the fourth quarter. Freshman Sam Price had a double-double with 12 points and rebounds. The Lions shot 40.7% from the field, and an even 20% from three.
The Ravens will be at home against Manchester on Wednesday to attempt another win over their rival.
MENS
The men’s team looked to put an end to five game winning streak by MSJ. In the first half, it was a neck and neck game; sophomore Nolan Swan fueled the energy for the Ravens with 11 points after four straight threes by MSJ to start the game. AU ended up leading at halftime 31-30. “Take it possession by possession” was the message at halftime by coach Carter Collins. The Ravens executed that plan and jumped to a hot start to begin the second half. The big momentum switch in the second half was when senior Elijah Mattingly drove inside and found a cutting DeMonte Ferguson for a two-handed slam. As the buzzer sounded, AU led to take a triumphant win 76-61 over conference leading MSJ. The Ravens jump into a five way tie for 1st in the HCAC conference standings, they look to win their 3rd conference title.
“We just got to be focused on us, when you start focusing on other games and teams in the conference, that’s when you start running into trouble,” said Coach Collins.
Leading the Ravens in scoring was Nolan Swan with 20. His aggressive driving and precise shooting was felt by MSJ. DeMonte Ferguson had a season-high 17 points, which was also a career high for the senior. Other scorers were Bryce Williams with 12, Kenney Troutman with 7, and 6 points from Cedric Anderson and Will Jamison. Another impressive night from Elijah Mattingly as well, who had 5 points and 9 rebounds. The Ravens shot 48.3% from the field and 22.7% from three. The Ravens had 6 turnovers, which is very good and clean basketball.
Junior Jason Lavender led the Lions with 16 points, and sophomore Joe Brand had 15 with four three-pointers. The leading scorer for the Lions, Matthew Menninger had 11. The Lions shot 40.4% from the field, and 33.3% from three.
The Ravens look to continue their quest for a conference championship Wednesday as they travel to North Manchester to face their biggest rival, Manchester.