Grand Rapids, Mich. – The AQ men's basketball squad returned home to the Sturrus Center tonight (Jan. 3) for a conference matchup against the University of Northwestern Ohio Racers. Aquinas took an early lead and never let it go, downing the Racers 86-74 on its home court.

AQ improves to 7-6 with a 4-3 record in the WHAC. UNOH falls to 3-10 with a 2-5 conference record.

Aquinas 86, UNOH 74

Donovan Brown-Boyd and Devon Boyd kicked off the game with a pair of threes to take an early 6-4 lead. The Saints hot first half continued as Aquinas took a 22-12 advantage into the second media timeout of the half. UNOH scored a couple of buckets coming out of the timeout, but Devon Boyd responded with his eighth point of the game. Brown-Boyd scored another three on the next possession to increase the lead to ten.

Brown-Boyd remained hot from beyond the arc, scoring three more threes to give him 19 points in the half with four minutes still to play as the Saints held a 17-point advantage. The Racers came back to cut the lead down to single digits, but AQ rebuilt the lead with an Andrew Larson at the first-half buzzer taking the score to 50-37 going into the half.

Brown-Boyd led the way for the Saints with five threes in the first half, shooting 7-9 from the field and 5-7 from three.

The game resumed to start a whistle-friendly half. AQ maintained a steady lead to start the half, but UNOH started to cut down the lead until Aquinas was leading by just five points with ten minutes left to play. However, AQ began to run away with a lead largely due to a series of fouls from the Racers. Larson was the primary beneficiary of the fouls, as he was given 12 free-throw opportunities in the second half.

UNOH wasn't able to build any momentum as Aquinas iced out the final five minutes to win 86-74.

By the Numbers

Aquinas led for 37:43 out of the full 40 minutes throughout the game. The Saints outshot the Racers across the board, leading in field goals (26-21), field goal percentage (49.1-39.6), three-pointers (10-6), three-point percentage (50-31.6), and free throw percentage (75-72.2).

AQ also led in rebounds (44-24), assists (17-14), steals (8-7), and second-chance points (13-1).

Brown-Boyd set career highs in points scored (30), three-point attempts (10), and three-pointers scored (6). In addition to his points, he loaded his stat line with seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal.

Larson also set several career-highs in the game tonight with 23 points, 36 minutes played, 13 free throws made, and 13 rebounds. He paired his double-double night with two assists and two steals.

Up Next

AQ is back in action this weekend (Jan. 6) for a road matchup against UM-Dearborn. The game is set to tip off at 3:00 p.m. following the women's game.