For the second time in as many tries this season, the Aquinas men's basketball team earned an overtime victory, as the Saints prevailed in Southfield on Saturday (Jan. 25) with an 81-74 victory over Lawrence Tech. Despite a game-tying, last-second three-pointer in regulation from the Blue Devils, AQ never trailed in the extra frame and outscored LTU 14-7, with nine of those points coming from Sammie Ryans.
 
It was the second straight win for Aquinas, as the Saints move to 8-15 overall and 4-9 in WHAC play. Lawrence Tech falls to 8-12 on the season and 3-10 in league action. AQ defeated the Blue Devils by an 81-59 count on Dec. 7 in Grand Rapids to sweep the season series with Lawrence Tech.
 
With 4:04 remaining in the second half, Aquinas appeared to be in control and led 64-56. Lawrence Tech made a big late-game run and hit a game-tying three-pointer with just two seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 67-all. AQ had a potential game-winning shot miss its target, sending the game to overtime.
 
In the opening minute of the extra period, Ryans buried a pair of three-pointers to give the Saints an early 73-67 advantage. LTU hit a trifecta to make it 75-72 with 1:45 remaining, but Ryans hit three free throws, Jesse Hillis split a pair of freebies, and Deric Murray scored on a late layup to ice the game for the Saints. 
 
Murray put up a team-high 20 points on 10-for-15 shooting, to go with four rebounds and two steals. Gabe Overway added 11 points on 5-for-8 from the field, while Davion Benton was one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and two assists. 
 
All nine of Ryans' points came at the most opportune time – in the extra session. He was 2-for-2 from the field (both three-point attempts) and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe, while adding two steals and two boards. Beau LePage scored seven points to go with three assists and DeShawn Lewis added seven points and five rebounds in just 10 minutes. Hillis dished out a team-best four assists.
 
The Saints shot 53.1 percent from the field, made 6-of-14 triple tries, and went 7-of-12 at the free throw line (4-of-6 in overtime). Lawrence Tech shot 41.3 percent overall, 8-of-30 from downtown, and 14-of-17 at the stripe. AQ dominated in the paint (52-30) and in bench points (44-31), while the Blue Devils held a 15-4 edge in second chance points. 
 
Aquinas turned 18 LTU turnovers into 33 points, while the home Blue Devils scored just nine points off of AQ's 14 turnovers.
 
The Saints led by as many as eight points in the first half, but Lawrence Tech held a 31-26 advantage after the opening 20 minutes. It was tied at 43-43 with 12:37 to play in the second half, but Aquinas made a run and took a 56-48 lead on back-to-back-to-back layups from Murray. Another Murray layup with a little over four minutes remaining kept it at a 64-56 edge but LTU used a wild 11-3 surge to tie the game and send it to the extra period.
 
11 of AQ's 14 points in the overtime session came from the Saints reserves. Aquinas is 2-0 in overtime games this year – with both games coming on the road – as the Saints also topped Rochester on Dec. 14 by an 81-78 score. 
 
AQ remains on the road next Wednesday (Jan. 29) in Sylvania, Ohio, when the Saints will match up with #13 Lourdes at 8:00 p.m.