A big second-half run for Hope was enough to put away the Aquinas men's basketball team on day two of the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Classic, as the Flying Dutchmen notched a 79-63 victory over the Saints. AQ held a 39-38 lead early in the second half on Saturday (Nov. 30) before Hope put together a game-changing surge – including nine three-pointers in an eight-minute stretch – to take control of the contest.
It was the second night of the Hall of Fame Classic, hosted at Cornerstone this year. On Friday (Nov. 29), Aquinas took care of Calvin by an 84-60 score, while Hope dropped a close contest to Cornerstone, 78-74. Saturday's result puts Aquinas at 2-9 on the year, while Hope is now 4-1 overall.
The Saints shot nearly 40 percent in the first half and built an eight-point lead midway through the half, but Hope responded by taking a 34-31 halftime lead. For the game, the Flying Dutchmen went 13-of-22 from three-point range, including a blistering 9-for-14 mark from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes.
Overall, Hope shot 54.4 percent from the field, while Aquinas hit 37.5 percent of its field goal attempts. The Saints owned a 43-34 rebounding advantage, including a 21-7 edge on the offensive glass. AQ also led the Flying Dutchmen in points in the paint (44-26), bench points (37-30), second chance points (14-9), and points off turnovers (14-13).
Myles Patten shot 7-of-9 from the field to post a team-high 15 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.
Andrew Myers added 13 points, three boards, and three assists in 20 minutes, making 6-of-10 field goal tries.
Gabe Overway totaled nine points and a team-high eight rebounds, while
Davion Benton posted nine points and five rebounds in 16 minutes. Including his 15-point, 11-rebound double-double against Calvin on Friday, Benton was named to the Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament Team.
DeShawn Lewis chipped in seven points, five rebounds, and a pair of steals.
Truman Hillis grabbed four rebounds, while
Malik Jones dished out three assists.
Hope led 12-11 until Benton buried a three-pointer at the 12:43 mark and Patten followed with three consecutive layups to put the Saints out to a 20-12 lead. The Flying Dutchmen bounced back to tie the game at 22-22 around the eight-minute mark and eventually pushed out to a 34-31 halftime advantage.
Early in the second half, it was 38-33 in Hope's favor, but the Saints regained the lead thanks to a 6-0 run on two buckets from Patten and a layup from Overway. Aquinas led 39-38 with 16:21 remaining, but Hope answered with a huge run to open up a 71-45 advantage in nearly an eight-minute stretch and take control of the game.
AQ returns to action on Wednesday night (Dec. 4) at 8:00 p.m. in Adrian, Mich. against Siena Heights.
