Grand Rapids, Mich. — The Aquinas College men's basketball team traveled down to Ohio on Saturday (Dec. 14) to take on the Yellow Jackets of Defiance. The Saints set themselves up for success by having two dominant halves keeping them in front. With the find horn, AQ returned to the winning column with a 74-53 finish.
Aquinas 74, Defiance 53
The Saints put the first points up as
Caden Pokorzynski made his presence known early with a layup in the paint. Defiance returned with a three only for Pokorzynski to return for another layup in the paint. AQ had the 4-3 advantage but didn't look to stop there as the Saints pushed the difference to 11-4 by the way of free throws by
Terrance Jones and
Kaleb Mitchelson, and layups from Pokorzynski and
Jack Futa.
Aquinas had their hands stretched wide as they continued to extend the scoreboard difference. Nearing ten minutes of play in the first half AQ stood tall with an 18-point advantage (27-9). The Yellow Jackets managed to bounce back cutting the gap to seven points (27-20). But AQ put their foot back down and ended the half with the difference extended back to 11 points (33-22).
The second half saw AQ push their advantage. However, this time Defiance began to narrow the point difference. Nearing 12 minutes of play remaining Defiance had defied the odds and brought the game to a two-point difference (44-42). With the Yellow Jackets picking up steam, AQ knew they had to re-up their efforts.
The Saints once again hunkered down and pushed the pedal to the metal. Aquinas had taken Defiance's energy and used it for themselves. The Saints went on to bring their advantage to a new peak (+24) as the Saints stood confident at 72-48. In the final minute, both teams traded baskets to bring the contest to a close at 74-53 win for the Saints.
By the Numbers
- Three Saints tallied double-digit points, Jadakiss Lewis (22), Pokorzynski (13), Jones (10)
- Pokorzynski led AQ in rebounds with 10
- Lewis shot 100% (9-9) at the line
Up Next
The Saints will continue their away-game spree with a contest with (RV) Spring Arbor on Tuesday (Dec. 15) with a 5:00 p.m. tip-off.
