The Aquinas men's basketball team continued its winning ways on Sunday (Feb. 14) in Ann Arbor, as the Saints rattled off their fourth consecutive double-digit victory. AQ held a 12-point halftime lead over Concordia at the Cardinal Field House and the Saints cruised to the 80-64 WHAC victory.
 
In the last eight days, Aquinas has gone 4-0 with all four wins coming by double-digits and an average margin of victory of 15.5 points per game. The Saints are now 4-6 on the season and 4-5 in WHAC play, good for sixth in the WHAC standings. Concordia drops to 5-8 overall and 3-5 in league action.
 
10 AQ players scored in Sunday's win, with three double-digit scorers leading the way. In only 18 minutes off the bench, Deric Murray went 8-for-13 from the field and totaled a game-high 20 points. Jesse Hillis was 8-of-15 shooting and recorded 18 points and seven assists, while Justin Lary hit 4-of-7 shots and chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds. 
 
Trevor Ballard drilled a pair of three-pointers among his eight points, three boards, and two steals, while Sammie Ryans grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds and added six points and two helpers. Gabe Overway grabbed eight boards as the Saints won the rebounding battle, 43-35.
 
Aquinas shot 47.7 percent from the floor and hit six three-pointers. The Saints, which led by as many as 23 points in the second half, scored 42 points in the paint and totaled 32 bench points. The AQ defense limited Concordia to just 32.3 percent shooting and a dismal 2-for-27 from long distance.
 
The Saints jumped ahead early in the game and made it a 36-24 advantage on a Murray layup with 5:03 remaining in the first half. More than a minute later, Ballard drilled a three-pointer and Hillis found Lary for an easy fast break layup to give AQ the 41-28 cushion. It was 43-31 at halftime, in favor of the Saints.
 
AQ was in front 43-34 when the game changed on a 13-0 Saints run. Hillis hit a jumper and Lary added a layup a few minutes later. Two more Hillis layups were followed by one from Murray, who then connected on two free throws for a 55-34 lead after 13 consecutive Saints points. 
 
The lead grew to as many as 23 points and Concordia was never able to pull any closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
 
Aquinas has a short break before returning home on Wednesday night (Feb. 17). The Saints host Lawrence Tech at 7:30 p.m. inside the Sturrus Center.