The Aquinas men's basketball team dropped a road WHAC game on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 6), as Madonna pulled away from the Saints in the second half. At halftime, the home Crusaders led 32-26, but MU extended its lead and closed out AQ by a 74-55 final score.
 
Madonna improves to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in WHAC play. The loss puts Aquinas at 0-6 overall and 0-5 in conference action. 
 
The Crusaders shot well on their home floor, connecting on 44.8 percent of their field goals and going 9-of-19 from beyond the arc. AQ shot 36.1 percent overall and went 8-for-24 on three-point attempts. Madonna had a 10-point advantage at the line, finishing 13-for-20 while Aquinas was 3-for-10 at the stripe.
 
Midway through the first half, the Crusaders led 21-11, but AQ battled back within a bucket with an 8-0 run on three-pointers from Colten Nelson and Justin Lary and a jumper from Deric Murray. It was 21-19 with 9:23 remaining in the first half.
 
Late fastbreak layups from Jesse Hillis and Trevor Ballard made it a 29-26 game with 39 seconds remaining. Madonna would go into the locker room with a 32-26 lead after a three-pointer in the closing seconds.
 
An early 6-0 run tied the score at 32-32, with Ballard scoring four points and Sammie Ryans adding a layup. From there, the Saints hit a dry spell and Madonna went on a big run to take control at 50-32. AQ could not pull within single digits again in the second half.
 
Ryans tallied a team-high 12 points and eight rebounds, making 5-of-10 field goals. Nelson hit a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points off the bench. Ballard and Lary each chipped in six points apiece.
 
Hillis passed for five assists and grabbed three steals. Gabe Overway and Tevin Ali pulled down six rebounds each.
 
The Saints keep up their busy schedule, heading to Lima, Ohio on Sunday (Feb. 7) for a 5:00 p.m. tipoff against UNOH.