Grand Rapids, Mich. — How the Aquinas men's basketball team got to a 70-61 win over UM-Dearborn on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 10) wasn't exactly comfortable but, in the spirit of Holiday Hoops, the Saints joyfully accepted the final outcome to snap a five-game losing streak.

The Saints (5-7, 3-5 WHAC) went up 21 points, 51-30, with 14:30 remaining in the second half, but the Wolverines (1-13, 0-8 WHAC) clawed back to within three points at 59-56 to make AQ sweat out the final five minutes of the contest. Aquinas kept its composure and finished strong to make the final score a little less scary at 70-61.

Junior guard Menalito McGee paced the Saints offense with a team-high 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting. He made four 3-pointers, tying a season-high, on nine attempts. Senior forward Gabe Overway went 4-for-5 for 11 points in 20 minutes of action. In total, 10 different Saints got in the scorer's book.

The Wolverines scored the opening basket and led again at 4-3 before the Saints took over and never relinquished the lead. AQ held UMD to 24.2% shooting (8-for-33) in the first half and took a 34-23 lead to the locker room at halftime.

While both offenses perked up in the second half, careless turnovers continued to plague both sides as they combined for 37 turnovers (19 AQ, 18 UMD). The Saints outscored the Wolverines 22-19 on points off turnovers.

An and-one converted by Overway gave Aquinas its biggest lead at 51-30. But, UM-Dearborn used a 26-8 run in the span of roughly 10 minutes to get within three points in the final minutes. Elwood Tomlinson led the Wolverines with 18 points on 6-for-22 shooting.

Points by Nick Henry, Andrew Larson, Payton Harley, Devon Boyd and Jared Dugener helped AQ ice the contest away. Henry and Larson each grabbed eight boards and combined for five blocks and six assists. Boyd finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds.

The Saints return to action on Friday (Dec. 16) with a rescheduled exhibition contest against NCAA Division II foe Davenport. Tipoff at Davenport is slated for 7 p.m.