KSU Tuscarawas vs. Wright State Lake Highlights (Video by Maggie Lampe)
The Golden Eagles basketball team showed no signs of rust after a nearly two-week layoff and led from start to finish in disposing of Wright State Lake, 101-77, in Founders Hall Gym on Saturday.
With their sixth straight win, the Eagles have now won nine of their last 11 games and stand at 11-9 on the season.
Braden Rostad continued his torrid three-point shooting and spotted KSU Tusc a 3-0 lead with a right corner pocket triple on the team's first possession. He dialed long distance four times in the first half making three bombs in the first four minutes of the game as the Eagles soared to a 21-8 lead.
WSU Lake put together a 10-2 run to slice the lead to five (23-18), but it was close as the visitors would get for the remainder of the game.
With 10:44 left in the opening half, the winners got a Gunnar Tharp triple, two Mike Huberty free throws and a Rostad baseline jumper to grab the lead and the momentum back 30-18. They pushed the lead to 20 points, 51-31, blitzing the Lakers for 10 consecutive points as Andre Leavell and Malik Campbell carved up the defense with drives to the hoop down the middle of the lane.
Tharp banged home another triple and then drove to the left elbow and found Arthur Jackson cutting to the basket for an easy two. Seconds later, Jackson tipped in a missed shot and Rostad buried a three-pointer to put the Eagles up 56-37 at the half.
The onslaught continued at the start of the final 20 minutes, when KSU broke out with a 10-0 spurt highlighted by a Leavell dunk off an inbounds pass under the Eagles basket. The crowd pleaser followed an intentional foul when Leavell was bear-hugged from behind as he tried to convert on a layup after the Navy and Gold stole the ball near half court. Leavell split a pair of free throws and then left a defender in his wake, as he cut to the basket from the top of the key to snag a throw-in from Tharp at the rim and jam it into the basket for a 67-49 lead.
The lead swelled to 94-64 on a Rostad put back at the 4:31 mark and the damage was done. The largest advantage was 32 points (101-69) as the Eagles coasted to the win putting 10 players in the scoring column.
Rostad was one of five Golden Eagles who scored in double digits with 18 points. Jackson ended with a season high 17, 11 of them in the final half. Recovering from a bout with the flu bug, Tharp saw limited action but sank 5/8 triple tries and matched Leavell with 15 points, while Campbell added 14.
The Eagles shot 51% from the floor converting on 41-80 attempts. They outrebounded WSU Lake 44-37, had 10 steals and 22 assists.
On Sunday, KSU Tusc hosts Andrews University in a 4 p.m. start.
Malik Campbell controls the ball after getting a rebound.
Arthur Jackson drives to the basket against WSU Lake. (Photos by Jason Keller)