Grand Rapids, Mich. - Hot shooting and a complete team effort led the Aquinas men's basketball team past visiting Governors State on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 11) inside the Sturrus Center. AQ shot better than 60 percent from the field, scored 52 points in the paint, and had 14 players score in the team's 101-80 non-conference victory over the Jaguars.
It was the first 100-point game for the Saints since Dec. 10, 2016, when Aquinas raced past Marygrove by a 102-66 final. On Saturday, AQ made 9-of-18 three-pointers, 18-of-23 free throws, and recorded 53 bench points. 15 Saints played, with 14 players registering a point in the scoring column.
Aquinas moves to 1-1 on the year, while Governors State dips to 2-4 overall.
The Saints played a strong first half, leading 47-25 after the opening 20 minutes. AQ led 16-10 midway through the half before a dunk from Donovan Brown-Boyd started a big 9-0 run. Jared Lary scored on a layup and Tommy Gregwer hit his first three-pointer of the game. After Bennett Sinner's layup at the 9:29 mark, Aquinas had raced out to a 25-10 advantage.
Moments later, Gregwer buried two more triples and sandwiched them around a huge dunk from Samuel Medendorp doubled the score at 30-15. The lead swelled to 45-22 after trifectas from Devon Boyd and Menalito McGee. AQ made five triples in the opening half and shot 61 percent from the floor, while limiting Governors State to just 31 percent shooting.
The visiting Jaguars chipped away at the deficit in the second half, pulling as close as 56-45 with 13:11 remaining. A three-point play from Kaleb Mitchelson minutes later put Aquinas back in front with a 20-point margin at 71-51. Another Medendorp dunk, an Andrew Larson layup, and a Boyd trifecta gave the Saints a game-high 28-point advantage near the four-minute mark at 92-64.
Jacob Howard's corner three-pointer in the closing seconds helped AQ crack the 100-point mark for the first time in almost seven years.
Brown-Boyd (eight rebounds, three assists) and Boyd (6-of-7 field goals, five assists) shared team-high scoring honors with 16 points apiece. Gregwer came off the bench and lit up the scoreboard to the tune of 15 points in 16 minutes. He made all five of his shots, four of which were three-pointers, and grabbed three steals.
Lary contributed nine points, four assists, and three steals. Medendorp and DeAndre Francis scored eight points apiece; Medendorp added four boards and three of AQ's eight blocks. Francis also grabbed four boards and handed out four assists. The Saints had 27 assists as a team, with 10 players earning at least one helper.
Larson and Howard each added six points; Larson (along with Brown-Boyd) played a team-high 26 minutes, while Howard hit both three-point attempts. All 15 Saints that played on Saturday logged at least four minutes.
AQ is back at it on Tuesday night (Nov. 14) at 7:00 p.m., when the Saints host Great Lakes Christian before beginning WHAC play next weekend at Siena Heights.
