The Aquinas men's basketball team put four players in double-figures on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 28) at the Sturrus Center, as the Saints captured their fourth straight win with a 78-65 triumph over Calumet College of St. Joseph. AQ led wire-to-wire on Saturday and held a huge 52-27 rebounding advantage to take down the Crimson Wave in non-conference action.
With the victory, Aquinas has won four straight regular season games since Dec. 7, with only a pair of exhibition game losses at Davenport and Western Michigan during that time. The Saints are now 6-10 on the season, while Calumet St. Joe's drops to 3-11 overall.
While four Saints reached double-digits, it was junior forward
Davion Benton who stole the show. He posted his fifth straight double-double and sixth in the last seven games with 20 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Benton filled out the statline with six assists, two blocks, and a steal. He was only 3-of-5 from the field, but a perfect 14-for-14 at the charity stripe. Benton had recorded exactly 11 rebounds in five of his previous six games until his 18-rebound outburst on Saturday.
Jesse Hillis also produced a strong statline with 15 points (3-of-8 on three-pointers), five rebounds, four assists, and four blocks. Both
Deric Murray and
Sammie Ryans notched 12 points apiece off the bench; Murray added five rebounds and three assists, while Ryans went 5-of-11 from the field in his first game in an AQ uniform.
Overall, the Saints shot 40.3 percent from the field and – in large part to Benton's 14-of-14 mark at the line – AQ shot 15-of-16 at the stripe. Aquinas went 9-of-31 from three-point range. AQ's rebounding edge of 52-27 included a 19-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
Calumet St. Joe's outshot AQ by the slimmest of margins with a 40.4 percentage and went 11-of-34 from downtown. The visitors were 8-of-12 at the line. Aquinas held an 8-0 advantage in blocks and a 36-20 mark in the paint.
A tip-in by Hillis and two Benton free throws gave AQ the early 4-0 lead, one that it would not relinquish. Four more points from Benton and a Murray dunk pushed the Saints to a 16-5 advantage just seven minutes into the contest. CCSJ trimmed the lead to five points late in the half, but Aquinas took a 37-29 lead to halftime after a late layup from Murray as the final points of the opening 20 minutes.
An early three-pointer from
Andrew Myers and four straight freebies from Benton helped the Saints extend back to a 13-point (44-31) advantage just three minutes into the second half. AQ remained out in front until a barrage of Calumet St. Joe's three-pointers helped the visitors pull within 63-60 at the 7:28 mark of the second half.
The Saints responded with two triples from Myers, another from Hillis, and four Benton free throws for a 78-62 lead with two minutes remaining. AQ has totaled 81, 81, 88, and 78 points during the four-game winning streak, which are four of the top-six point totals for the Saints this year.
Myers supplied nine points (3-of-7 on trifectas), six rebounds, and three assists, while
Gabe Overway added eight points and six rebounds.
Justin Lary also grabbed four boards.
Saturday's game was the final one of the calendar year. AQ continues its four-game homestand with a 3:00 p.m. contest next Saturday (Jan. 4) against Concordia in the Sturrus Center.
