For the fifth time in six games to start the 2019-20 season, the Aquinas men's basketball team faced an opponent in the national rankings, as #9 Madonna turned a slim two-point halftime advantage into a 73-59 victory at the Sturrus Center on Saturday (Nov. 16). It was a 54-51 score near the 9:00 mark of the second half, but the Crusaders used a key run to pull away for the WHAC opener victory.
Aquinas drops to 1-5 on the year and 0-1 in WHAC play, though the Saints have played the #1, #4, #9, and #19 teams in the country – along with a team listed as Receiving Votes – over the first half dozen contests. Madonna improves to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in conference action.
The Saints led in several specialty categories: rebounds (34-31), points in the paint (26-22), points off turnovers (20-16), second chance points (15-6), bench points (27-8), turnovers forced (17-13) all went in AQ's favor. Madonna, however, used strong shooting overall – 58 percent in the second half, 52 percent overall – to earn the road win.
Both teams attempted 23 three-pointers, with the Crusaders notching 13 trifectas and AQ connecting on three triples. Overall, Aquinas shot 39 percent from the field and 8-of-13 at the line.
DeShawn Lewis posted a team-high 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting and pulled down seven boards. Deric Murray supplied 12 points in 15 minutes off the bench, making 5-of-11 shots. Davion Benton delivered a team-high eight rebounds and seven points in 15 minutes, hitting all three free throw attempts.
Gabe Overway chipped in six points and four rebounds, while Andrew Myers handed out a team-best four assists.
The Crusaders opened a 10-point lead in the first six minutes of the game, but Aquinas chipped away at the deficit, as Benton tipped in a missed shot and turned it into an 'and one' with 10:49 remaining. That made the score 17-13. Minutes later, the Saints pulled within a point on a Myers triple to make it a 23-22 game at the 6:50 mark.
The teams would play even the rest of the opening half, as Madonna took a 35-33 lead to the intermission. MU scored the first seven points of the second half to open a 42-33 advantage, but again the Saints would battle back.
Three straight buckets from Murray and a Beau LePage three-pointer brought AQ within a point at 49-48 with 11:24 remaining. After Murray split two free throws at the 9:51 mark, it was 54-51. Madonna then went on a game-changing 15-2 run over the next seven minutes to turn the tight game into a 69-53 score and take control.
Aquinas will head on the road next Wednesday (Nov. 20) at 7:30 p.m. for a WHAC contest at UM-Dearborn.
