Southfield, Mich. – The Saints were back in action for their regular Wednesday night conference basketball. This time, AQ was on the road for a date against a strong Lawrence Tech team as Aquinas looked to move back above .500 on the season. Lawrence Tech came into the game on a five-game win streak and a 6-2 record on its home court.

In what has been the Saints' theme lately, Aquinas took Lawrence Tech down to the wire in another one-possession game. LTU had the opportunity to win the match at the buzzer, but the gritty Saints side held on for a 72-70 road victory.

Aquinas improves to 11-10 on the year with an 8-7 WHAC record. Lawrence Tech moves to 13-8 with a 9-6 conference record.

Aquinas 72, Lawrence Tech 70

Lawrence Tech scored the first bucket of the game and had the Saints playing from behind for a good portion of the first half. It was a defensive battle between the two sides as the two teams scored a combined 26 points in the first 10 minutes of play.

Ryan Weir gave AQ its first lead of the game with a splash from downtown, putting AQ ahead 15-14 with 8:57 left on the first half clock. Several minutes later, a seven-point run from Andrew Larson gave Aquinas a bit of breathing room with a five-point advantage. Donovan Brown-Boyd then connected for three to put the Saints up by nine with just a couple of minutes to go in the half.

LTU rebounded for a small run to end the half, but Aquinas held a 32-28 advantage at the conclusion of the half.

The defensive contest continued into the start of the second period of play as AQ held a slim 41-49 lead several minutes into the half following a Jacob Howard three. The Blue Devils responded with a three of their own to take the lead back, but the two teams began to trade points back-and-forth to maintain a one-possession game.

The tight contest continued for the next seven minutes until the Saints finally began to break away. Brown-Boyd connected on a three, Jared Lary scored a pair of free throws, and Brown-Boyd scored a layup for a seven-point run to establish a seven-point lead with just six minutes left to play.

Brown-Boyd continued to take over down the stretch, knocking down bucket after bucket to keep Aquinas ahead. He splashed a pair of threes and scored two free throws in a 90-second span to put AQ ahead 69-63 with just a minute and 30 seconds to go. Brandon Beavers for LTU responded with a three of his own with just cut the lead to one possession with a minute left on the clock.

Larson responded after Beavers missed a three to give AQ a five-point edge with just 26 seconds to go. Beavers missed again in what should have sealed the game, but a technical foul issued on Aquinas kept LTU's hopes alive. Beavers scored both free throws to cut the lead to one possession again.

Devon Boyd was fouled with 10 seconds to go and converted one to give AQ a two-possession advantage again. However, Beavers scored a quick layup to take the lead back down to just two.

With the pressure on and four seconds remaining on the scoreboard, Aquinas missed both of its free throws to give LTU a last-second chance. Beavers threw it up, but the ball went off the backboard and fell to the floor to give AQ the road victory.

By the Numbers

As indicated by the final score, the game was tight between the two sides. AQ held the advantage in points off turnovers (12-11), bench points (23-18), and points in the paint (24-20). The Blue Devils scored more second-chance points (8-6) and fast break points (12-4).

Aquinas shot the ball significantly better than the hosts, converting 42.6% of its shots to LTU's 35.3%. The Saints also shot better from beyond the arc, scoring at 43.8% to Lawrence Tech's 29.2%.

Brown-Boyd was lights out down the stretch, scoring 17 points in the final nine minutes of the game to help keep Aquinas ahead. He scored 25 total points on 7-21 shooting, along with eight rebounds, two assists, and a block.

Lary had another efficient night shooting the ball, shooting 4-7 from the field and 6-6 from the line for 14 points. He also grabbed seven defensive boards and provided three assists.

Larson was the third Saint to crack double-digit scoring, shooting 6-9 from the field and scoring his only three-point attempt for 13 points.

Up Next

Aquinas has one game left to play on the road for its three-game road stand. The Saints are set to take on Indiana Tech this Saturday at 3:00 p.m.