The Aquinas men's basketball team was unable to hold onto a six-point halftime lead on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 23), as the visiting Lourdes Gray Wolves prevailed in a tight game down the stretch by a 63-58 final. AQ and Lourdes were tied at 54 with 6:49 to play, but the visitors outscored Aquinas 9-4 over the remainder of the game to earn the victory.

With the loss, Aquinas drops to 1-7 on the season and 0-3 in league action. Four of the Saints' seven defeats have come by five points or less. Lourdes improves to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in WHAC play.

The game was a tale of two halves, as Aquinas outscored Lourdes 32-26 in the opening 20 minutes, but the Gray Wolves turned things around in the second half with a 37-26 scoring advantage. Overall, Aquinas shot 43.1 percent from the field and went 5-for-16 on three-point tries. Thanks to nearly 62 percent shooting in the second half, Lourdes finished at 55.6 percent from the field; the Gray Wolves were 4-of-11 from downtown.

AQ led in bench points (24-9), points off turnovers (15-14), and second chance points (12-6), while Lourdes held edges in points in the paint (40-28) and fast break points (10-4). Each team pulled down 28 rebounds, but Aquinas led on the offensive glass by a 10-6 margin. Lourdes committed 18 turnovers, while AQ made 17 miscues.

The lead changed hands 10 times (seven in the second half) and there were six tie scores. Aquinas' eight-point lead at 12-4 early in the first half was the largest lead of the contest for either team.

Five Saints scored eight or more points, led by Davion Benton's 15 points and six rebounds. Benton went 6-for-10 from the field and grabbed four offensive rebounds in just 18 minutes before fouling out late in the second half. Justin Lary posted 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting, making 2-of-3 three-point attempts.

Deric Murray made all four of his freebies and posted nine points in 17 minutes off the bench. DeShawn Lewis tallied eight points, six rebounds, and three assists, while Jesse Hillis added eight points, four assists, and three boards, making 4-of-8 field goal tries.

AQ jumped out to the aforementioned 12-4 edge in the opening five minutes after two Gabe Overway jumpers were sandwiched around a Lewis trifecta. Lourdes chipped away and took a 19-17 lead at the 8:39 mark, but two Benton free throws tied things back up a minute later.

Back-to-back buckets from Lary made it 27-23 in AQ's favor and the Saints closed the half with a 5-0 run, as Murray hit a three-pointer and two free throws. The Saints went to the half with the 32-26 lead.

Lourdes used an early run in the final 20 minutes to tie the score at 38-all and then posted the next seven points for a 45-38 advantage with 13:45 to go. Trailing 47-41, Benton scored on four straight shots - a layup, two jumpers, and a tip-in - for an 8-2 run that tied the game at 49-49 with 10:01 to go.

Two Murray free throws and a three-point play from Benton gave Aquinas a slight 54-52 edge, but Lourdes hit four free throws on its next two possessions to regain control and start an 8-0 run. The Saints now trailed 60-54, but Hillis converted a pair of layups and it was a one-possession game in the final 35 seconds.

After the Gray Wolves split two freebies with 32 seconds left to make it 61-58, AQ got a good look at a three-pointer from the top of the key, but couldn't knock it down and Lourdes grabbed the rebound, hit two free throws, and sealed the five-point win.

The Saints quickly get back into action on Tuesday (Nov. 26) for a non-conference game at NCAA Division II Saginaw Valley State in University Center, Mich. at 7:00 p.m.