Grand Rapids, Mich. — Senior forward Gabe Overway needed 19 points to reach 1,000 career points in his ongoing four-year career at Aquinas. After making two free throws late in the second half, Overway scored exactly 19 points to become the 35th Aquinas men's basketball player to score 1,000 points at AQ.

The memorable feat capped off a 74-63 back-and-forth victory over non-conference foe Grace Christian (11-12). With the win, the Saints (9-11) continued their recent run of form of bouncing back after a loss with a stabilizing win.

The Grace Christian Tigers came out running Saturday night (Jan. 21) and dedicated a fast tempo from the opening tip off. AQ embraced for the challenge and quickly found themselves in a track meet with shots regularly being hoisted with 15-20 seconds left on the shot clock.

From the field, the Tigers took 71 shots (making 23 for a 32.4 shooting percentage) and the Saints put up 59 shots (making 27 for a 45.8 shooting percentage).

Tied at 32-32 with a little over two minutes to play in the first half, Aquinas finally separated themselves for good. Devon Boyd made a pair of triples to give the Saints a 38-32 lead going into halftime, and then AQ scored the first nine points of the second half to put together an impressive 15-0 run.

A layup made by Grace Christian's leading scorer Jalen Rawls, who finished with a team-high 18 points on 7-for-21 shooting for the Tigers, briefly stopped AQ's scoring spree at 47-34. The Saints then buried three 3-pointers, with Ryan Weir hitting two and Payton Harley getting the other, to hold a commanding 22-point lead at 56-34 with 14 minutes remaining.

AQ's lead never dipped below single-digits after that point.

Overway, who nearly had a double-double at halftime with nine points and nine rebounds in 11 minutes of action, couldn't miss all night. While pulling down 16 rebounds — one shy of his season-high — Overway finished 7-for-7 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free throw line to collect a team-high 19 points.

His last two free throws were the biggest of them all with just over two minutes to play. Calmly sinking both from the line to give the Saints a 72-56 lead, Overway eclipsed 1,000 career points at Aquinas and received a loud standing ovation from the home crowd inside the Sturrus Center. 

Ironically, on Grace Christian's next possession, Overway fouled out and watched the rest of the game as the Saints went on to close out a 74-63 victory.

Boyd and Harley each scored 11 points for AQ. Harley also had a team-high five assists. Donovan Brown-Boyd and Weir each added nine points. Andrew Larson grabbed 13 rebounds to help the Saints win the rebounding battle, 50-42. 

The Saints now head back into WHAC conference play with another home game this Wednesday night (Jan. 25) at 7:30 p.m. against Lourdes. The Gray Wolves defeated the Saints, 80-62, earlier this season on Nov. 30 at Lourdes.