First Posted: 2/26/2015
LIMA — The University of Northwestern Ohio men’s basketball program is in unchartered waters.
But, there’s no need to be concerned.
The No. 16 Racers, who recently claimed a share of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference championship for the first time in school history, showed no fear in Thursday’s convincing 91-65 WHAC Tournament quarterfinal victory over Madonna University at The Garage.
UNOH (25-6) came out blazing from the opening tip and led from start to finish.
With the win, UNOH will advance to the semifinals of the WHAC Tournament. The Racers will host No. 4 Cornerstone on Saturday with tip-off set for 3 p.m. Cornerstone defeated Lourdes in a quarterfinal on Thursday, 78-63.
Against Madonna (14-17) on Thursday, the Racers had four players score in double figures.
Former Ada standout Aaron Cross led UNOH with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting. The 6-foot-7 junior forward also pulled down eight rebounds.
Ed Jenkins got the Racers going early, hitting 4-of-5 on 3-pointers in the first half. After scoring 16 points in the first half, Jenkins ended the game with 18 points. Teammates Ziar Anderson (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Lawrence Jackson (14 points) also scored in double figures. Defiance product Josh Scott dished out 11 assists and scored 6 points for UNOH.
“Ed Jenkins had to change his role this year and become more of a passer,” UNOH coach Chris Adams said. “But, tonight was his night. He came out and shot the ball lights out and really got the team sparked up. And I thought the rest of our players keyed off of that and it got to be a snowball effect.”
For the game, UNOH was 15-of-24 shooting from behind the arc for a sizzling 63 percent. Overall, the Racers shot 55 percent from the field.
UNOH jumped out to a 12-2 lead within the first three minutes of the game. Jenkins was on fire, scoring eight of those points.
“We wanted to play solid defense and push the ball as fast as we could,” Cross said. “And Ed (Jenkins) just came out of nowhere and was really hot. He really led us out and got the big lead.”
The Racers’ biggest lead in the first half was 36 points, 50-14, with less than three minutes left in the half. UNOH’s lead at the break was 53-18.
“We really shot the ball well tonight from the 3-point line,” Adams said. “I think you’ll win a lot of games when you shoot like that. So, the stars were aligned correctly tonight.
“I thought our kids passed the ball really efficiently in the first half and got the ball to where we needed to have it. Ziar Anderson had a double-double, working the inside with a great second effort. I think it’s the little chemistry things that make the difference with this team.”
Madonna struggled in the first half, hitting just 32 percent from the floor, which included a 1-for-9 shooting performance from behind the arc.
In the second half, Madonna came out strong and cut the deficit to 20, 72-52, with a little more than nine minutes left to play.
However, Adams reinserted his starters and they were able to throttle down the Crusaders the rest of the way.
“Tonight, our defensive effort in the first half was about the best we’ve played all year,” Adams said. “This team has bought into what we need to do. I think we’ve established an identity. And when we can play within our identity, we can cause problems.”
UNOH won the battle on the boards, 43-29.
Shaun Duncan (16), Khalil Malone (13) and Jeff Schmitz (12) all scored in double figures for Madonna.
The win over Madonna puts the Racers into Saturday’s semifinals, and a chance to continue making history.
“I think this win tonight really gave us a good chance, at worst case, getting in (the NAIA Tournament) as an at-large bid,” Adams said. “The 25 wins is pretty much a benchmark. I think that would put us ahead of some other people.”
