The Aquinas men's basketball team could not keep up with the pace set by Cornerstone on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 13) in Mol Arena. The Saints were not able to come back from the 14-point deficit they faced at halftime to the Golden Eagles and ultimately fell by a score of 93-66.
Aquinas' overall record drops to 4-2 on the season and have a 1-1 record in conference play, while Cornerstone moves to 6-1 and perfect 2-0 in WHAC games.
The Saints and Golden Eagles traded buckets to open the first half as the close contest was tied at 14 with 13:37 remaining. Cornerstone then started maintaining a slight lead in between two and seven points in the next five minutes of play as Aquinas continued to battle. The deficit hit double-digits with three minutes left until halftime as CU went on a 8-4 mini run to hold a 14-point lead heading into the break.
Cornerstone kept its foot on the gas to open the second half and soon claimed a 29-point advantage with 11:20 still on the clock. The lead grew to as much as 33 points before the final while blew and the scoreboard read 93-66 in favor of the Golden Eagles.
Aquinas made 24-60 shots from the floor for a 40% shooting percentage. The Saints finished 5-20 from behind the three-point line and made 13-15 free throw attempts. Cornerstone shot the ball at a 48.6% clip on 36-74 field goals, including 13-35 from downtown and 8-12 from the charity stripe.
Gabe Overway paced the Saints offensively, finishing with 14 points on 6-10 shooting and two free throws with also grabbing eight boards. Jaylen Rutherford was right behind him with 13 points on three two-point baskets, one three pointer, and four free throws. Sammie Ryans and Jesse Hillis chipped in with nine and seven points, respectively, while Trevor Ballard was the leading assist getter with three.
Cornerstone led Aquinas in the categories of rebounds (42-34), assists (22-13), blocks (3-1), and steals (5-4), while committing eight turnovers compared to AQ's 12.
Aquinas will continue WHAC play with an away game on Wednesday (Nov. 17) against Madonna in Livonia, Michigan, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 PM.
