The Aquinas men's basketball team had its four-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday night (Feb. 17) in the Sturrus Center, falling to visiting Lawrence Tech by a 68-59 score. AQ cut a 19-point second half deficit to just five points in the final minute, but were unable to complete the comeback in the WHAC matchup.

With the result, Aquinas drops to 4-7 overall and 4-6 in WHAC play. Lawrence Tech improves to 5-7 on the year and 3-6 in league action. The hot-shooting Blue Devils connected on 52.2 percent of its field goals and made 8-of-20 triple tries, while AQ shot 36.7 percent overall and went 6-of-26 from downtown.

LTU won the rebounding battle (35-26) and led in points in the paint, 30-22. The Saints held a 19-7 advantage in bench points and committed just 11 turnovers, while forcing the Blue Devils into 18 miscues.

Jesse Hillis, the reigning WHAC Player of the Week, totaled a team-high 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Menalito McGee came off the bench to score a career-high 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting and drained three triples.

Sammie Ryans added nine points, Trevor Ballard scored eight points, and Justin Lary pulled down a team-high 10 boards.

An old-fashioned three-point play from Ballard was followed by a McGee trifecta for an early 15-10 lead for AQ. Lawrence Tech ran off a 12-2 spurt to regain a 22-17 advantage with 5:59 remaining. Two Ballard free throws and a Ryans layup made it a 27-26 score with under two minutes to play. A late three-pointer put the Blue Devils in front at halftime, 30-28.

LTU was in front 37-34 at the 13:48 mark of the second half before tallying a game-changing 17-1 run, putting the Blue Devils ahead, 54-35. The Saints chipped away and made it 63-54 with 2:22 to go on a Ryans three-pointer.

Ryans added a pair of free throws on AQ's next possession and Hillis hit a three-pointer to bring the Saints within five at 64-59 at the 37-second mark. The Saints would not score again, as Lawrence Tech hit 4-of-4 free throws to ice the game.

Aquinas heads across town on Saturday (Feb. 20) to take on rival Cornerstone at 3:00 p.m.