The Aquinas men's basketball team got into the WHAC Tournament as the sixth seed and traveled to Livonia, Michigan to face third-seeded Madonna on Wednesday evening (Feb. 23). After the Saints held a one point lead halfway through the first half, a 17-2 Crusaders' run was the turning point in the ball game to boost MU to a 79-63 win. 

The trio of Jesse Hillis, Trevor Ballard, and Sammie Ryans scored 23 of AQ's 29 first half points to try and keep the Saints in the game. The first 10 minutes of the first period saw seven lead changes and two ties as both teams battled to take control. At the 9:59 mark, Aquinas held a 14-13 lead over Madonna as Ballard had already scored six of his eight first half points off the bench. Over the next three minutes, the MU offense erupted for a 17-2 run including three baskets from long range. The Crusaders pushed their lead to as much as 15 with 2:45 remaining until halftime. AQ responded with an 8-2 mini run to end the half and trim the deficit to single digits heading into the locker room. MU made four more field goals than the Saints in the first 20 minutes, including four more three-point baskets.

After being in foul trouble in the first half, Gabe Overway took over in the second half by making 10 of 11 attempts from the floor and scoring all 24 of his points in the final 20 minutes of play. Menalito McGee hit a three to open the second half and then Overway made the next three buckets as teams battled back and forth. The Saints were able to lessen the deficit further down to six, but an 11-0 run by the Crusaders pushed their lead up to 17 at the 14:46 mark. Aquinas made things interesting at 11:36 with a 9-0 run of its own to cut the Madonna lead down to seven. The wind in AQ's sails eventually died out as MU held a double digit advantage for the remainder of the game. 

The Crusaders shot the ball 11% better from the field than the Saints with a 53.1% shooting percentage compared to AQ's 41.9% field goal percentage. Madonna also secured more rebounds (37-27), assists (18-11), blocks (5-4), and steals (9-6) than Aquinas. 

To go along with Overway's 24 points, he also collected 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. Ballard finished with 13 points off the bench, while Hillis also added 10 points. 

Ryans dished out the most assists with three to go along with his seven points. McGee ended the night with seven points, five boards, two steals, an assist, and a block. Justin Lary also added two points and four rebounds. 

AQ finishes the season with a 16-14 overall record (10-10 WHAC) in 2021-22 and collected the most wins since the 2017-18 season. The Saints will lose seniors Sammie Ryans, Justin Lary, and Jesse Hillis to graduation, but will bring back two juniors, four sophomores, and six freshman to the 2022-23 squad.