The Aquinas men's basketball team put together a big second half to overcome a halftime deficit and earn a road win in Ann Arbor on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 8). AQ trailed Concordia 38-35 at the intermission, but outscored the home Cardinals 45-33 over the final 20 minutes to notch the 80-71 WHAC victory.
 
It was the second meeting of the season between the schools, with each team winning on the other's home floor. AQ fell 81-74 on Jan. 4 in the Sturrus Center, but rebounded to split the season series with a very similar final score on Saturday. With the win, Aquinas is 9-18 on the season and 5-12 in conference action. Concordia drops to 9-17 overall and 5-11 in league play.
 
The Saints had some strong individual performances en route to the win, while AQ shot 46.2 percent from the field and outrebounded the Cardinals, 47-34. Jesse Hillis tied his career-high with 24 points on 9-for-21 shooting. He went 3-of-8 from three-point range and added five boards and two assists. Gabe Overway posted his first double-double as a Saint with 12 points (6-of-9 shooting) and 10 rebounds, four coming on the offensive glass.
 
Davion Benton went 3-for-4 from the field and 6-of-6 at the line for 12 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, and two steals – all in just 18 minutes. Beau LePage made all four shots he took (two three-pointers, two free throws) for eight points, while Truman Hillis grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds, with five of those on the offensive end of the floor.
 
Deric Murray added seven points, Sammie Ryans scored seven points, and DeShawn Lewis totaled four points and three rebounds. The Saints went 6-of-17 from beyond the arc and 14-of-21 at the line, while the home Cardinals were just 7-of-12 at the charity stripe.
 
Concordia did make 12-of-30 three-pointers, but shot only 40.6 percent from the field overall. AQ committed just 12 turnovers and had a huge 46-26 advantage in the paint, along with a 29-18 lead in bench points.
 
The Cardinals led by as many as seven points in the first half, but that lead was trimmed to 38-35 at halftime. AQ quickly tied the score at 44-44 early in the second half on an Overway layup and then used a 13-2 run to move out in front 57-46 at the 10:53 mark.
 
Jesse Hillis scored 11 of AQ's 13 points during that run, including back-to-back three-pointers in a 35-second span. Minutes later, Murray hit a three-pointer and added another bucket for a 62-49 lead and the Saints appeared to be in control with 8:46 remaining. 
 
An old-fashioned three-point play by Jesse Hillis made it 72-56 with just over five minutes left, which was Aquinas' largest lead of the game. Concordia gave one final run and turned it into a 74-71 score with 1:41 to play. Benton grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a three-point play with 49 seconds left to make it 78-71, which was followed by two LePage freebies to seal the victory.
 
Two of AQ's final three regular season games are at home, starting with crosstown rival Cornerstone next Saturday (Feb. 15) at 3:00 p.m. in the Sturrus Center.