The Aquinas men's basketball team nearly pulled off a huge road comeback on Monday night (Jan. 13) at #24 Cornerstone, but the Saints were unable to pull even against the Golden Eagles, dropping a 76-73 final to their crosstown rivals. CU led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but Aquinas pulled within a point with 70 seconds left before Cornerstone finished off the win.
 
The dramatic comeback that fell short dropped AQ to 6-13 on the season and 2-7 in WHAC play, while Cornerstone improves to 12-7 overall and 6-4 in league action. It was another great matchup between the crosstown rivals, but the Golden Eagles made one more key play down the stretch than Aquinas.
 
Not to be lost in the defeat was the career-best performance from Deric Murray, as the junior wing posted a career-high 27 points in 25 minutes. He finished 11-of-18 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line, to go with six rebounds off the bench. It was Murray's first career 20-point game, besting three previous career-high games of 18 points. His 27 points is tied for the highest single-game effort by a Saint this season.
 
Davion Benton posted his seventh double-double of the year with 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Benton was 11-of-19 at the charity stripe, with six of his rebounds coming on the offensive glass. Justin Lary also provided 11 points and five rebounds, making a pair of three-pointers. 
 
For the game, Aquinas (40.3 percent) outshot Cornerstone (39.7 percent) from the field, but the Golden Eagles held a 10-3 edge in made three-pointers, though CU (36 tries) did attempt twice as many triples as AQ (18) shot in the game. The Saints went 20-of-31 at the free throw line, while Cornerstone was 12-of-16. Both teams committed nine turnovers.
 
The Golden Eagles led the entire game, including a 13-point cushion in the first half, but Aquinas chipped away to a more manageable 43-36 at halftime. Cornerstone appeared to have the game in hand at the 11:37 mark, leading 58-44. AQ, however, mounted its comeback at that point and eventually pulled within one possession.
 
Six Benton free throws and a Murray layup brought Aquinas back to within single digits, while another Murray layup and a three-pointer from Lary made it 68-64 with under four minutes to go. Cornerstone was up 73-67 when Lary scored on a layup and Murray converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it a 73-72 contest with 1:10 to play.
 
CU point guard Christian Rodriguez made a tough jumper in the paint with 46 seconds to go and Benton split two free throws for Aquinas for 75-73 score with 14 seconds remaining. The Golden Eagles made one of two free throws for a 76-73 lead, but the Saints turned the ball over on the next possession and were forced to foul with less than two seconds to play.
 
Despite Cornerstone missing two free throws, AQ's hail mary three-point attempt at the buzzer was off target, sealing the win for the home team.
 
Jesse Hillis grabbed seven boards for Aquinas and Andrew Myers handed out a team-high three assists. 
 
Monday's rescheduled game is the start of a three-game road swing for the Saints this week. AQ will square off with UNOH on Wednesday night (Jan. 15) at 7:30 p.m. before another road contest at Madonna on Saturday (Jan. 18) afternoon.