The Aquinas men's basketball team were not able to pull out the rivalry win over Cornerstone on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 15) in Sturrus Center. The Golden Eagles were too much for the Saints, growing their lead to as much as 18 in the second half before taking the 70-57 victory.
AQ now has a record of 11-9 on the season and a 5-6 WHAC record, while CU improves its record to 13-7 on the year and 7-3 in the conference.
The first half was low scoring as the defense really took over for both teams. The Saints only made one bucket through the first 9:35 of the game and the Golden Eagles led 16-3. After CU grew its lead to 15, AQ was able to string a couple of possessions together and cut the lead to eight late in the half. The score read 28-18 when the teams went to the locker room with Cornerstone holding the advantage.
There was more offensive flow in the second half as the teams combined for 81 points compared to the 42 scored in the first 20 minutes. After both teams exchanged buckets for the first four minutes of the half, Aquinas went on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to three with 13:04 remaining. That would be as close as the game got as Cornerstone took over and eventually grew the lead back out to as much as 18. When the final whistle blew, CU gained the 13 point win.
Aquinas shot the ball at a 33.3% clip after making 23-69 baskets, including 8-25 from downtown and 3-4 from the charity stripe. Cornerstone went 27-61 from the floor for a 44.3% field goal percentage, including 7-22 from three-point land and 9-11 from the free throw line.
Jaylen Rutherford was the leading scorer for the Saints with 15 points, while also adding seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Gabe Overway turned in 12 points off the bench to go along with his three rebounds and single assist. Jesse Hillis was the third Saint in double figures after scoring 11 points, grabbing four rebounds, collecting two assists, and a steal.
Sammie Ryans was the leading rebounder with nine, but had a tough day shooting and finished with four points. Trevor Ballard (6), Justin Lary (5), Jared Dugener (2), and Bronson Sysum (2) rounded out the scoring for AQ.
Rebounds were even at 41 for both teams as CU held advantages in assists (17-13), blocks (7-1), and steals (8-3). AQ forced 12 turnovers, while turning the ball over 10 times itself. Aquinas also held an advantage in points off turnovers (13-9) as Cornerstone led in second chance points (8-7), bench points (17-16), and points in the paint (38-28), while both teams scored four fast break points.
AQ will hit the road for its next game against Lourdes on Wednesday (Jan. 15), with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 PM.
