2012-13 FIGHTING SCOTS
MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

The OVU Fighting Scots basketball team honored Mustafa Helal and Ashton Brown in tonight’s Seniors Night celebrations.

Ohio Valley started the game very strong, getting out to an early 7-0 lead over Wheeling Jesuit University. However, it wasn’t long before the Cardinals opened up a 14 point lead going into the half on top of the Scots 50-36. Ashton brown went into the break with 11 points on 5-8 shooting with 3-6 from behind the arc.

By mid-way through the seoncd half the Cardinals has extended their lead to 20 points. OVU was unable to contain Wheeling Jesuit University on defense as they found scoring from both inside the paint and from 3 point land. As the game drew both teams made substitutions, while OVU’s subs decreased the scoring deficit, they were unable to win the game, eventually falling 111-83.

OVU had several players with double figures on offense. Ashton Brown and David Sinickas led the Scots with 15 points each, followed by Mustafa Helal with 14 points and Povalis Dambrauskas with 13 points.
The Fighting Scots will play their final regular season game on the road against Fairmont State University on Saturday.
 

While hosting the Yellow Jackets of WV State University, the OVU men’s basketball team got off to an early start when David Sinickas opened the game by hitting three consecutive three point shots. With an early 13-4 lead, OVU looked to build on their lead and found assistance in Robert Smelser who offered strong minutes off the bench in the first stanza. By the end of the first half the Yellow Jackets had teid the game at 41-41. Ashton Brown who was dealing with an injured hand contributed 6 points and 4 assists in the half after distributing the ball and attacking the hoop well.

West Virginia State University opened the second half with a small run of their own by capitalizing on several free throw attempts as OVU committed early fouls. The Yellow Jackets extended their lead after a possession which saw OVU commit two fouls, with a double foul away from the ball and a foul on the play. On the next possession OVU was pulled up for a technical on a player comment. Neither team was able to create a sizeable lead. With two minutes remaining in the game OVU was down five points with possession of the ball, however, WV State went on a run that enabled them to win the game 88-79.

David Sinickas led the Scots with 19 points after shooting 5-9 from beyond the arc. Robert Smelser added 13 points followed by Jerry Macon, Jr. who had 12 points and 5 assists.

The Fighting Scots will be playing on the road against Concord University on Saturday.
 

In tonight’s WVIAC conference matchup the Fighting Scots played the Battlers of Alderson-Broaddus College.

The Fighting Scots got off to a slow start as they struggled to score and saw the Battlers collecting points, down 6-18 after ten minutes of play. OVU was unable to stop Alderson-Broaddus from scoring multiple points from beyond the arc as they connected on 5-11 three point attempts in the first half extending their lead to 41-22 at the half.

Midway through the second half OVU remained down by twenty points. The Battlers found offense from both inside the paint and three point range. They also dominated the boards and received several second opportunities off offensive rebounds. As OVU was unable to score on the offensive end of the court they continued to struggle in the game and eventually lost 71-47.

OVU was led in scoring by Ashton Brown who had 22 points in the loss. The Fighting Scots take to the road against Bluefield State College in their next match on Monday.
 

The Fighting Scots men’s basketball team hosted the University of Charleston in tonight’s conference home double header. After being defeated in the teams first match up, OVU looked to collect this home win.

After a slow start on offense, OVU relied on their defensive effort to keep the game close. However, it didn’t take long for the Scots to put the ball in the hoop as they got scoring from six different players in the half. Ashton Brown led the Scots at the half with 10 points of his own. OVU went into the half down by 6 points after they managed to close the scoring gap by forcing turnovers and crashing the boards.

Charleston University started the second half with a 16-2 run before Robbie Smelser hit a fade away jumper from the short corner 4:25 into the second half. Down 17 points, OVU struggled as they consistently committed shooting fouls which sent Charleston to the free throw line to score easy points with the clock stopped.

OVU was unable to recover from the run made by the Golden Eagles early in the half and lost the game 96-69. Robert Smelser top scored for the Fighting Scots with 20 points, he also had 7 boards. Ashton Brown followed with 17 points.

The Fighting Scots will be on the road playing at West Liberty University on Monday.
 

The Men’s basketball teams of Ohio Valley University and Glenville State College have had two competitions prior to tonight’s match-up in which the Pioneers have won both contests.

In tonight’s home game the Fighting Scots looked to add another conference win to their record. OVU’s Ashton Brown poured in 22 points in the first period hitting 3 for 5 three pointers and 7-7 from the charity stripe. By shooting almost 50% from the field OVU was able to hang with Glenville, down by 7 points at the half.

Glenville State expanded their 40-47 lead by starting the second half with a 16-3 run, which they continued to build on before they eventually took the game with a final score of 97-61.

Ashton Brown led OVU in scoring with 24 points. OVU will return to the Snyder Activity Center on Saturday to play conference opponent University of Charleston.
 

OVU returns to the Snyder Activity Center to try and add to their recent conference win. Hosting the Rams of Shepherd University would prove to be a tough physical matchup for the Fighting Scots.

The Fighting Scots limited second opportunities for the Rams by rebounding the ball well on defense. OVU found scoring from several players in the first half, with six players adding points. Several trips down the court including a breakaway layup by Ashton Brown sparked OVU which helped them build momentum and extend their lead to 15 points. However, the Rams high pressure, full court defense forced OVU to commit seven turnovers in the half and minimize their lead to just three points as OVU led 44-41 at the break.

Shepherd returned from halftime with a three point shot that ignited the Rams as they eventually took a 53-51 lead. OVU continued to battle throughout the half finding three point shots from both Ashton Brown and David Sinickas. With ten minutes remaining in the half Osvaldas Gaizauskas committed his fifth foul on a technical foul and was disqualified for the remainder of the game. Superb defensive effort by David Sinickas caused a steal which led to a breakaway layup bringing the Fighting Scots to within six points with 8:21 remaining in the game. OVU then had a lapse on defense which allowed Shepherd to score six quick points on consecutive trips down the court. Down ten points with 4:53 to play, OVU’s Gregg Strasser was sent to the line and sank one of two free throws but OVU gained possession on a rebounding error by the Rams. Povilas Dambrauskas sank both of his free throws pushing OVU up to 78 points to 86 points for the Rams. However, OVU only got as close as 80-88 in the final two minutes of the game, before they eventually lost 80-95.

Ashton Brown top scored with 27 points for the Scots followed by David Sinickas who added 20 points including four three-point shots. Povilas Dambrauskas led OVU in rebounding with 10 boards. OVU will be on the road for their next game as they travel to WV State University on Thursday.
 

Ohio Valley University faced the Mountain Lions of Concord University tonight in conference action. Both teams came out playing hard and fighting for the win.

OVU jumped out to an early lead, but Concord would fight back to gain a 14 point advantage quickly after several OVU fouls. The Fighting Scots would have several players get into foul trouble in first half play. With a score of 26-11 and eight minutes left in the half OVU would begin a steady climb off points from Ashton Brown, Gregg Strasser, and David Sinickas to pull within eight points of the lead. As the half wound down good defense and clean shots from the Scots left the score going into the locker room at 35-30 with OVU within five points.

As second half play started both teams were hungry to grab the win. Concord led off with a good three-pointer by Mike Boyd which would quickly be matched by OVU’s Osvaldas Gaizauskas. The team’s would go back and forth for points with OVU staying within three points of the lead until and unfortunate injury to OVU’s Jerry Macon, Jr. would put OVU in a bit of a whirlwind. By the time the team pulled together again they had dropped to a fifteen point deficit. They were not able to come back and Concord was able to take home a 86-66 win over the Fighting Scots.

OVU was led in scoring by freshman, David Sinickas who had 17 points in the game, while Ashton Brown led the team with 8 rebounds on the night.

The visiting Falcons of Fairmont State took an early lead over the Fighting Scots 6-0. OVU answered back to tie the game up quickly at 7-7 after Osvaldas Gaizauskas scored all seven for the Fighting Scots. From that point forward it was all Fairmont State for the rest of the half. They went for 23 unanswered points to bring the score to 30-7.

OVU was having some trouble with the defensive press by Fairmont State causing OVU to turn the ball over several times for Falcon scoring opportunities. This led to a first half score of 43-13. Osvaldas led the Scots in the half with seven points and nine rebounds.

Ashton Brown scored the first points of the second half to start the Fighting Scots on their way to cutting into Fairmont’s lead. Oz continued the game with a dunk off a pass from Mustafa Helal. Fairmont would not be silent in the half they came back to score ten in a row to maintain their lead.

OVU’s Ashton Brown continued to lead the Scots down court scoring the team’s game high points with eighteen in the second half alone. As Brown drove the basket he opened up scoring opportunities for the Fighting Scots. They were able to lead the half but couldn’t make up for the thirty point deficit of the first half of play.

Osvaldes Gaizauskas had a double double for OVU with 13 points and team high 11 rebounds.

OVU will play at home again on Monday, January 7th against Concord University.
 

The Fighting Scots came out firing on all cylinders as they took an early 7 point lead against Bluefield State College. Midway through the first half of this conference match up, OVU had earned themselves a 10-5 point lead.

As OVU continued to play team basketball they found success. An and 1 play by Jerry Macon Jr. increased the early scots lead to 15-11 with 11:30 remaining in the half. The Fighting Scots followed up a pair of Bluefield State free throws with an alley-oop dunk by Osvaldas Gaisauskas, assisted by teammate David Sinickas. Ashton Brown then hit a floater putting the Scots ahead by 2 points. David Sinicaks successful 3 point attempt gave the Scots a 24-19 point lead with 7:06 to play in the half. However, Bluefield took advantage of several OVU missed shots and turnovers to take a 30-33 point lead into the half time break.

Ashton Brown tied the game at 33 a piece with a pull up 3 point shot 1 minute into the half. The next ten minutes saw both teams rally as OVU took a 48-43 advantage over Bluefield with 11:39 remaining as the media timeout was called. A substitution by the Scots added James Allen to the line up. Allen scored five quick points with a pair of free throws and a 3 point shot, making the score 53-45 in favor of the Scots with 10:30 remaining in the game. OVU proceeded to commit several consecutive turnovers which enabled Bluefield to deplete OVU’s lead to 62-60 with 3:52 left over. The Fighting Scots stepped up defensively in their newly presented zone defense that allowed them to get stops and convert on the offensive end. With 1:58 left in the game OVU held a 67-62lead. After trading free throw attempts on several possessions, OVU was able to earn a 74-65 win as thei kept their composure over conference opponent Bluefield State College.

OVU was led by Ashton Brown who had 18 points in the match, followed by Jerry Macon Jr. who added 15 points of his own. Mustafa Helal was at the helm of the defensive efforts with 7 blocks.

OVU will continue conference play on Friday when they play against Glenville State College.

The Ohio Valley University Men’s Basketball team welcomed the Hilltopper’s of West Liberty University in tonight’s conference home opener. The Fighting Scots entered the game with a 1-3 record on the season thus far, finding a win in non-conference play.

With a packed gymnasium, the Fighting Scots provided an uptempo game with high intensity from the tip-off. Down 15-23 with 11:27 remaining in the half, David Sinickas and Evan Jamison hit back to back 3 point shots to bring the Scots within 4 points at 21-25. A lay up, followed by another two consecutive three balls kept the Scots within attacking position. OVU got to within 3 points of the Hilltoppers lead, before eventually falling behind by 13 points to enter the half with a score of 48-61.

West Liberty started the second half with a 14-0 run before they extended their lead to 40 points when they hit the 100 point mark on a pair of free throws with 10:40 remaining in the game. OVU continued to battle hard, but eventually fell to the Hilltopper’s 139-71.

OVU was lead on offense by Jerry Macon Jr. with 13 points, followed by Neil Gingerich with 10 points. OVU also had 4 players with 8 points each.

The Fighting Scots will continue conference play against Seton Hill on Saturday at 4pm.

 The Fighting Scots of Ohio Valley University hosted Slippery Rock Univerity in tonight's men's basketball game held in the Snyder Activity Center.  The Rockies traveled from Pennsylvania where they compete in the PSAC.

Mustafa Helal was first to score in the game and gave the Scots their first two points on a baseline jumper assisted by Ashton Brown.  Jerry Macon Jr. was next to put points on the board for the Scots with a dunk in traffic on an inbound set play.  Media timeout was called at 13:49, at that time the Scots were down 6-13.  However, a quick jumper by Neil Gingerich, followed by a series of excellent plays by Chris Baker including a putback and one play, a forced turnover and a layup in the lane, helped to bring the Scots to within five points of the Rockies.  OVU committed several turnovers and fouls that were converted into quick points by Slippery Rock allowing them to extend their lead.  A three by Ashton Brown ended the run by the Rockies.  Brown then hit a pull up jumper at the knuckle to pull the Scots to within ten points at the half with a score of 24-34. 

After a low scoring first half, the Rockies were first to score in the second period but Jerry Macon Jr. answered back with a floater off the glass.  Ashton Brown helped to chip away the lead by following with a jumper of his own closing the scoring gap back to eleven points at 28-39.  Slippery Rock converted turnovers and missed shots forming a run that pushed them ahead 46-28 early in the half.  The team's traded three point shots and then Povilas Dambrauskas scored his first points of the game off a jump shot at the elbow.  The Fighting Scots changed their defensive strategy and fell back into a high pressure 1-2-2 zone which forced several Rocky turnovers.  OVU capitolized on several errors by the Rockies which helped them to minimize what once was a twenty point deficit.  With 9:40 remaining in the game Slippery Rock held a 39-52 lead.  The final media timeout of the game was called at the 6:35 mark, and at this point in the game OVU was trailing 43-62.  As OVU was unable to keep the Rockies from scoring they won the game 70-48. 

Ashton Brown top scored for the Fighting Scots in the loss with seventeen points and five rebounds.  OVU will be on the road this Saturday as they travel to Ohio Dominican as they look improve their record.

In the final game of the WVIAC vs. PSAC challenge, OVU hosted Gannon University.

The first half saw several runs from both teams. OVU was able to recover from being down 7 points early in the first half to being down by just 2 points at the break. Gannon went into the half with a 39-37 lead. Ashton Brown led the Scots with 13 points at the midway point in the game.

Ohio Valley opened the second half with a 3pt shot by Jerry Macon Jr., which gave the Scots their closest scoring gap of the game as they trailed by just 1 point. Ashton Brown followed that play with a play of his own when he hit the bottom two free throws of a three point free throw opportunity after being fouled shooting beyond the ark. At the 14:42 mark in the second half OVU plays Chris Baker, Neil Gingerich, and David Sinickas hit three point shots on consecutive scoring plays bringing the Scots to within seven points of Gannon. However, OVU was unable to build on their momentum and ended up losing the game 91-65.

Ashton Brown led the Scots with seventeen points and five assists. OVU’s second leading scorer was Osvaldas Gaizauskas with eleven points.

The Fighting Scots will return to the Snyder Activity Center to continue non-conference play on Tuesday, November 13th at 7:30pm against Slippery Rock University.

The Ohio Valley University men's basketball team opened their season at home tonigh in the WVIAC vs PSAC Challenge OVU is hosting.  The Fighting Scots welcomed PSAC opponent Millersville University in an exciting clincher of a game. 

The Fighting Scots displayed several stellar performances in the first half which helped them take a 36-35 point lead into the break.  Evan Jamison scored the first points of the Scots season on a pair of free throws.  A successful floater off the glass by Senior, transfer guard Ashton Brown tied the game up with 2:30 left in the first half.  He followed that play with a three pointer that sent OVU to the half with a one point lead.  Ashton was the team's leading scorer at the half with sixteen points.

Ohio Valley jumped out to a quick start in the second half with consecutive points by Evan Jamison and Mustafa Helal.  Jerry Macon Jr. found a hot hand and sunk two 3-balls within thirty seconds of each extending OVU's lead to 75-65.  As time expired Millersville found themselves within several points of the lead.  With OVU ahead by just three points with 2:25 remaining in the game the Millersville coaching staff called a timeout.  OVU was then sent to the line to shoot free throws on seven out of their last nine possessions of the game.  The Fighting Scots kept their composure and won their game in a thrilling 93-92 point game after exchanging free throws for three pointers with Millersville in the final three possessions of the game.

Ashton Brown had an outstanding performance tallying 43 points on the night with 7 assists and 9 rebounds.  Freshman, guard Jerry Macon Jr. was also a major contributor for the Scots with 21 points, 2 assists, and 3 rebounds. 

The Fighting Scots will return to the Snyder Activity Center tomorrow to compete against PSAC member Gannon University at 4pm.

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