Grand Rapids, Mich. – Aquinas geared up this evening (Jan. 24) to play its last game at home for the next couple of weeks against Rochester. The Saints entered the contest on a three-game skid and were looking to right the ship in front of a home crowd. Aquinas took its last two opponents down to the wire and gave Rochester the same treatment. However, it was AQ that came out on the upper end of a nail-biter with a winning score of 90-82.

AQ improves to 10-9 and a 7-6 conference record after the much-needed win. Rochester falls to 13-6 overall and 8-5 in the WHAC.

Aquinas 90, Rochester 82

Aquinas jumped off the blocks with a three from Donovan Brown-Boyd, a jumper from Devon Boyd, and another jumper from Brown-Boyd to give AQ a 7-2 edge. Rochester erased the deficit, but a hot run from Jared Lary had Aquinas in control with a double-digit lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the half.

Following the second media timeout, AQ cooled off a bit and Rochester took advantage of AQ's offensive lull. The Warriors erased the double-digit deficit and tied the game at 31-31 with just over two minutes to play.

A late three for RU solidified the lead to five points before the two teams entered their respective locker rooms. Jared Lary had a great half with 14 points and four rebounds, but Rochester held a 38-33 advantage.

AQ kicked off the half with a three from Andrew Larson, a fast break layup from Ryan Weird, and a three from Brown-Boyd to reclaim the lead. The Saints were hot from beyond the arc, scoring three more threes in the next two minutes for a 52-50 advantage.

Ryan Weir scored his third three of the half to give himself 14 points on 4-4 shooting from three. Those 14 points were a career-high for Weir with 15 minutes left to play.

The two sides continued to battle as both teams remained hot. Rochester began to build some momentum heading into the final media timeout of the game and held a 68-63 lead with nine minutes to go.

Aquinas once again heated up and started to eat away at the Rochester lead. A three-point play from Boyd tied the game at 74 and then Boyd hit a clutch three to give AQ a 77-74 edge with four minutes to go.

Boyd scored another bucket to give AQ an all-important two-possession lead. Weir had an impressive steal to give AQ the ball back and then Brown-Boyd grabbed an offensive board and scored a jumper for a six-point advantage with less than a minute to go.

RU played the foul game, but Aquinas hit its free throws and secured the 90-82 victory.
 
By the Numbers

AQ held an advantage in bench points (21-16), second-chance points (7-2), field goals (32-31), threes (13-10), assists (20-17), and steals (9-3).

Rochester shot slightly better from the field (53.4%-50%) and rebounds (34-32).

Lary led the team in scoring with 21 points on 9-14 shooting and 3-6 shooting from three to set a new career-high in points. He also grabbed eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Larson set his own career-high in rebounds as he grabbed a double-double with 18 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

Boyd scored several important buckets down the stretch, tallying a career-high 16 points. He shot 5-8 from the field and 5-5 from the line while tacking on four assists in the win.

Weir also scored a career-best 14 points after his hot streak that included four threes and that important steal near the end of the game.

Up Next

AQ's tough stretch of games continues this weekend with a road trip down to Sylvania, Ohio. The match against No. 10-ranked Lourdes is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.