The Aquinas men's basketball put five players in double figures and led by as many as 28 points on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 7) at the Sturrus Center, taking down visiting Lawrence Tech by a 81-59 final. AQ shot a blistering 58.2 percent from the field and held a 46-26 advantage in the paint to capture the WHAC victory.

With the win, the Saints are now 3-10 and 1-4 in conference play, while Lawrence Tech drops to 6-4 overall and 2-3 in league action. Saturday's game was the third annual Holiday Hoops event, with Christmas festivities all around the Sturrus Center throughout the basketball doubleheader; the AQ men are now 3-0 during Holiday Hoops.

Davion Benton posted an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double to led all players in the game in both categories. He was 7-of-8 from the field, 4-of-4 at the line, and added four assists, two blocks, and a steal in 27 very productive minutes. Deric Murray was also overly productive, pouring in 14 points in just nine minutes off the bench. Murray was 4-of-6 from the field and went 5-of-5 at the charity stripe.

Justin Lary, Andrew Myers, and Gabe Overway scored 10 points apiece, as four of the five starters reached double-digits. Lary went 4-for-9 and connected on a pair of three-pointers, adding five rebounds. Myers was 4-for-8 from the field, also made two triples, and supplied five assists and two steals. Overway shot 5-of-6 from the floor in 18 minutes.

The Saints shot a season-best 58.2 percent from the field and knocked down 12-of-13 free throw tries. AQ won the rebounding battle 28-21 and also led in every specialty category: points off turnovers (19-11), second chance points (12-7), and bench points (29-20). Aquinas scored all 10 of the game's fast break points.

Lawrence Tech led just twice on Saturday and by only one point in each instance. It was 11-10 with 14:52 to go in the first half, but Benton stepped to the line 19 seconds later and hit two freebies to start a 9-0 run and Aquinas would not trail again. Lary hit a three-pointer and added a jumper, then Benton's fast break layup made it 19-11.

The cushion extended to a 33-18 lead after an Overway layup and a Myers jumper at the 5:21 mark and the Saints would bring a 39-27 lead to the locker room at halftime. Myers came out and drilled a pair of three-pointers in the opening 90 seconds of the second half to make it a 45-27 advantage.

It was 45-30 before an AQ 13-0 run that finished with a Benton tip-in, a big dunk from Benton, and a layup from Truman Hillis to give the Saints the 58-30 edge. Lawrence Tech cut the 28-point deficit in half, but would get no closer as Aquinas hit all seven free throws in the final 4:28 to keep the Blue Devils at bay.

In the last eight days, Aquinas has scored its most points (84 last Friday in the win over Calvin) and second-most points (81 today) in a game this season, while adding 79 in a close loss at Siena Heights on Wednesday night.

The Saints will return to action in a week, when Aquinas heads to Rochester to take on the Warriors at 6:00 p.m. next Saturday (Dec. 14). It is the team's last WHAC game of the 2019 calendar year.