Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Aquinas men's basketball team played their home opening match against the Holy Cross Saints this evening (Nov. 12). The AQ Saints proved to have the upper hand from the beginning with the lead only changing twice over the first 10 points of the game. The AQ Saints outscored Holy Cross 38-30 in the first half and 40-28 in the second. Devon Boyd was a key contributor for the Saints as he had 24 of their 78 points. Caden Pokorzynski and Jadakiss Lewis also helped the Saints with the former earning 14 points and the latter scoring 13.

With steady pace, Aquinas was able to hold Holy Cross back to take a 78-58 victory.
 
Aquinas 78, Holy Cross 58

Starting with the ball, the Saints quickly asserted control of the game. After a few missed attempts from both teams, Holy Cross managed to secure the first bucket. The Aquinas Saints quickly bounced back with a three from the hands Pokorzynski with an assist coming from Jack Futa. Soon after, Kaleb Mitchelson and Menalito McGee connected as well, allowing Mitchelson to hit a layup and tie the game.
 
HC earned two free throws to take the lead for the last time in the game shortly after. However, this did not last long before Boyd scored a layup unassisted to tie the game up once again. A fast break by McGee, a 3-pointer by Lewis, and a layup by Ryan Weir pushed the Saints further ahead of Holy Cross. With one final three at the 10-minute mark by Pokorzynski, Aquinas was ahead by eight points.
 
In the final 10 minutes of the first half, AQ added 17 points, bringing the score to 38-30 for the Saints.

AQ's first-half game plan saw the team shoot 6-for-15 (40%) from beyond the arc, with Boyd hitting 3-4 and Pokorzynski going 2-2. Over the first 20 minutes, Aquinas shot 40% (14-35) from the field and 66.7% on free throws.

There was no slowing down for our Saints. They came into the second half landing valuable free throws and Boyd sinking a long three. By putting a lot of defensive pressure on Holy Cross, the Saints were able to create a couple of fast-break plays. McGee added two steals in the second half, which helped fuel these transition plays.
 
The rest of the second half was a series of back-and-forth with the Saints coming out on top, out-scoring Holy Cross 40-28 in the second half. This left the final score Aquinas 78, Holy Cross 58.
 
By the Numbers

• Boyd led the team in scoring with 24 points.
• Lewis and Pokorzynski had a strong showing for AQ, scoring 13 points and 14 points.
• The team secured 36 rebounds with Pokorzynski nabbing 9 and David Day and Caedmon Huff securing 5 each.
• As a team, the Saints had 10 steals with Lewis and McGee earning 2 each.
• Overall, Aquinas held the advantage in field goal percentage (43.1-39.3), free throws (14-10), and three-pointers (8-4).
• Holy Cross was able to secure one more rebound than the Saints (37-36).

Up Next

The Saints head to Governors State on Saturday (Nov. 16) to take on the Jaguars. That game is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.