Coyotes Pull Away after Hot Start from Ross, Eagles

SALINA, Kan. – Anchored by a hot start from James Ross III, Avila men's basketball more than kept pace with Kansas Wesleyan in the first half of the game, but the Coyotes (12-4, 9-1 KCAC) stayed hot in the second half while the Eagles (2-10, 1-9 KCAC) could not keep up, allowing the home team to pull away for a 90-71 victory on Saturday afternoon in Salina.

On a frigid day across the state of Kansas, both teams were hot early. Avila was the better team for almost the entire first half: the Eagles won the rebounding battle, shot better than 50% from the field, and led for more than 15 of the 20 contested minutes. Kansas Wesleyan was one of the KCAC's preseason favorites and is presently one of the most in-form teams in league play, but the Eagles were ready to play early on Saturday.

Jaren Miller set up Matthew Boldt for a three-pointer on Avila's first possession, and Boldt followed that with a steal and score to put Avila up 5-0 immediately. KWU fought back to tie the score at 12 with about 12 minutes left, but Ross erupted for the game's next eight points, and Avila's next 11, to give the Eagles a 23-14 lead halfway through the period.

Jehoiada Goins hit a couple of shots to keep the Eagles in front, but the Coyotes never gave up on the game: Isaiah Hale's offense and another strong all-around outing from Jun Murdock helped KWU rally to seize a 37-36 lead, their first of the game. Goins delivered one more important bucket, but that stemmed the tide only a little bit: Kansas Wesleyan took a 44-38 lead into the intermission.

And that late first half push seemed to give the Coyotes the surge they needed for the rest of the game. After a very even first half, KWU shot north of 60% in the second half while Avila was stuck at 35%, including just 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Kansas Wesleyan led for the entire period and steadily stretched the lead out to as large as 21 en route to a 90-71 victory.

Not typically the Coyotes' number one scoring option, Hale led all players with 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while Murdock scored 21 with six assists. Ross cooled down slightly after a torrid start, but still had an excellent game with 20 points, an Avila career high, on four made threes; Goins scored 13 with six rebounds; Boldt scored seven with nine boards and three assists.

Up next, Avila men's basketball will return home to Mabee Fieldhouse this Wednesday, January 17, against McPherson. The women's game will tip off at 6 PM with the men to follow at 8; as always, you can watch all the action live and for free on the Avila Sports Network with Joe Van Amburg on the call from Kansas City.