The Aquinas men's basketball team fell in a defensive battle at UM-Dearborn on Wednesday night (Nov. 20), as the home Wolverines captured a 52-37 win over the Saints. AQ trailed by seven at halftime, but UM-Dearborn was able to keep its distance in the second half and close out the conference victory.
 
Both teams struggled offensively on Wednesday, with Aquinas shooting 28.3 percent from the floor and UM-Dearborn connecting on 32.7 percent of its field goal tries. One major difference was the Wolverines' 9-1 advantage in made three-pointers, giving the home team a +24 edge from beyond the arc. 
 
With the win, UM-Dearborn improves to 7-2 overall and 1-0 in WHAC play, while AQ falls to 1-6 on the season and 0-2 in league action. 
 
11 Saints saw the floor on Wednesday, with every player logging at least nine minutes of action. Justin Lary was 4-for-5 from the field and led Aquinas with 10 points, while adding three boards and a pair of blocked shots in 29 minutes. Davion Benton also logged 29 minutes and recorded a team-high eight rebounds, seven points, and two steals. 
 
Jesse Hillis contributed seven points, while Andrew Myers totaled six points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. DeShawn Lewis added four points and four boards.
 
AQ led in bench points (16-13), while UM-Dearborn held advantages in points off turnovers (18-10) and points in the paint (16-8), along with a 7-2 edge in second chance points. 
 
The Wolverines held a 36-30 lead in the rebounding column. Aquinas recorded 15 turnovers and UM-Dearborn committed 12 miscues. 
 
Three Benton free throws put AQ in front 7-4 in the opening six minutes, but UM-Dearborn tied the game with a three-pointer and pushed out to a 20-10 advantage with 9:45 to play in the half. A free throw and a layup from Benton and a jumper from Myers helped the Saints get within four points at 23-19 with 44 seconds remaining. On UM-Dearborn's next possession, the Wolverines hit a three-pointer to take a 26-19 lead to halftime.
 
In the opening five minutes of the second half, UM-Dearborn extended to a 36-22 cushion. With 7:55 to play, Lary hit a jumper to make it a 41-32 game and get AQ back within single digits. From there, however, the Wolverines scored 11 straight points over the next five minutes to take control of the game.
 
Aquinas comes back home to take on Lourdes at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 23) inside the Sturrus Center.