University Park, Ill. – The Aquinas men's basketball team was back on the hardwood Saturday (Nov. 16) evening for a road contest against the Governors State Jaguars. AQ took a two-game winning streak into University Park after wins against Trinity Christian and Holy Cross. Aquinas entered the game strong, but Governors State managed to pull off a run at the end of the first half that shifted the momentum of the game. GSU rolled that momentum into the second half to keep AQ at bay for a 79-62 result.
AQ moves to 2-2 this season while the Jaguars improve to 4-4.
Governors State 79, Aquinas 62
Jacob Howard kicked off the scoring with a three from
Jack Futa. That scoring kicked off a back-and-forth battle between the two sides that saw four lead changes over the first ten minutes. As the first half ticked down, the Jaguars took the largest lead of the contest to that point with a five-point lead. Buckets from
Devon Boyd and
Terrance Jones brought the score back within one, but the Jaguars began to pick up the pace once again at the end of the half.
With two minutes to go, GSU went on an 8-0 run to take a 12-point lead. Howard ended the run with a pair of free throws, but Governors State connected on another three to take a 43-30 lead into the half.
Aquinas entered the second half hot with a quick six-point run to cut into the deficit. However, the Jaguars quickly recovered and went on another run, this time taking the lead up to 19 points with just under 13 minutes to play. From that point, the two sides traded buckets with GSU slowly increasing the lead.
A late nine-point run from AQ cut into that lead, but the push was a little too late. The Jaguars scored the last points of the game to solidify the 79-62 victory.
By the Numbers
- Menalito McGee led the Saints in scoring with 12 points on 4-8 shooting, including five rebounds and three assists.
- Jadakiss Lewis was the only other Saint to crack double-digits with 11 points.
- Caden Pokorzynski reached double-digit rebounds for the second time with 12 boards. He also scored nine points, leaving him just a point short of a double-double.
- This is the first time in the last three years that Governors State has managed to beat AQ.
Up Next
AQ will play its first conference game of the season on Wednesday (Nov. 20) on the road against Siena Heights. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
