The Aquinas men's basketball team nearly took down the WHAC co-leaders #13 Lourdes on the road on Wednesday (Jan. 29) in Sylvania, Ohio, but the Gray Wolves somehow escape with a back-and-forth 71-69 victory in double overtime. There were huge plays made by both teams down the stretch, but AQ's potential game-tying three-pointer from nearly 30 feet was off the back of the rim, clinching the win for the home Gray Wolves.
 
Aquinas had won its last two games and was looking to even the season series with Lourdes, as the Gray Wolves won in the Sturrus Center 63-58 on Nov. 23. With the result, AQ is 8-16 overall and 4-10 in WHAC play, while Lourdes improves to 18-6 on the season and 11-3 in conference action. 
 
It was the second straight overtime game for the Saints and the third of the season. AQ defeated Rochester 81-78 on Dec. 14 and Lawrence Tech 81-74 last Saturday, both in single overtime. 
 
Wednesday's game is the first double overtime for Aquinas since Nov. 24, 2007, when the Saints defeated Calvin 90-88 in two extra sessions. 
 
Aquinas built a 55-52 lead on two Jesse Hillis free throws with 12 seconds remaining in the second half. Lourdes missed twice from three-point range in the closing seconds, but still retained possession with 0.5 seconds left. On the potential game-tying three-pointer, Gray Wolf guard Little Anderson was fouled attempting a trifecta. With no time showing on the clock, Anderson went to the line by himself and no other players in the lane and made all three free throws to tie the game and send it to overtime.
 
The teams traded two free throws early in overtime and then layups in the final minute, with Gabe Overway tying the score at 59-59 with 18 seconds to play. On the other end, McRay White converted a three-point play for Lourdes with 2.2 seconds left for a 62-59 Gray Wolf lead. Aquinas had to go the full length of the court, with Deric Murray firing a baseball pass to Davion Benton on the other side of half court. Benton turned and found a wide-open Hillis on the right wing in front of the AQ bench and Hillis drained the three-pointer as time expired, sending the game to overtime tied at 62-all.
 
The Saints took a pair of two-point leads in the second extra session on a Beau LePage baseline jumper and a pair of Benton freebies. Trailing 66-64, Lourdes scored the next six points before LePage buried a three-pointer with 10 seconds to go to make it a 70-69 game. The Gray Wolves split two free throws, giving AQ a chance with six seconds left. Aquinas went the full length of the court and DeShawn Lewis' near 30-footer was on target but off the back of the rim, sealing the wild victory for Lourdes.
 
10 players reached the scoring column for AQ, led by 14 points from Hillis, who added five rebounds and four assists in 45 minutes. He was 3-for-5 from downtown, including the game-tying, buzzer-beating triple in overtime. Benton put up a 13-rebound, 10-point double-double, making 8-of-10 free throws. He added three steals.
 
Murray came off the bench to post 10 points, while LePage (2-of-3 three-pointers) and Overway (five rebounds) each chipped in eight points. Lewis scored seven points for Aquinas, which led 30-19 at halftime over the top-15 Gray Wolves.
 
Overall, AQ shot 39.0 percent from the field and went 8-of-24 from three-point range. The Saints were 15-of-22 at the line. Lourdes made 38.0 percent of its field goals, but was just 1-of-16 from downtown. The Gray Wolves were nearly identical at the charity stripe, going 16-of-21.
 
Lourdes won the rebounding battle (48-40), points in the paint (40-24) and second chance points (22-9). There were only 27 turnovers in the double overtime game; 14 for AQ and 13 for Lourdes. 
 
Aquinas will be back in action on Saturday (Feb. 1) in the Sturrus Center against Rochester at 3:00 p.m.