Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Two wins at the Drury Inn Classic gave Aquinas men's basketball plenty to be excited about coming out of opening weekend. The returners gave the Saints a foundation, and the newcomers brought a little extra juice to a lineup already finding ways to play off one another. Tuesday night brought the next test for the Maroon and White. How would that mix hold up when a talented Bethel team came to Coach Bo Court and made the Saints earn every bucket down the stretch?
Bethel 71, Aquinas 67
Caden Pokorzynski set the tone on both ends, blocking Bethel's opening shot before taking a feed from Jordan Bledsoe for a three-point play. David Day and Mershon Dickerson followed with jumpers, and Bledsoe turned a steal into a layup to put Aquinas ahead 9–4. Bledsoe went back up with his own miss for another basket, while Jack Futa grabbed a rebound at each end in his first-half stint. When Bethel closed to within two, Pokorzynski threw down a dunk and Lamont Green-Torbert knocked down a three to stretch the lead to 20–13. Xavier Zubric and Joe Russau added late buckets, and the Saints carried a 28–21 lead into halftime after holding the Pilots to 0-for-10 from beyond the arc and forcing 15 turnovers.
Zubric's layup pushed the lead to 32–22 just under two minutes into the second half, but Bethel worked it back to a one-possession game. Green-Torbert answered from deep, and Jordan McCoy finished a fast-break layup through contact and sank the free throw to make it 43–35. The Pilots got within two again before Dickerson buried a three, Bledsoe turned a steal into two free throws, and Pokorzynski scored four straight Aquinas points to make it 52–43 with 9:43 to play.
Then the buckets dried up. The Saints went nearly four minutes without a point, and a nine-point cushion was down to three by the time Pokorzynski finished a break and converted the free throw for a 55–49 lead. That three-point play was all Aquinas scored between the 9:43 mark and Zubric's dunk at 2:29. Bethel scored 13 straight after Pokorzynski's free throw, took the lead for good at 4:35 and stretched it to 62–55.
Zubric's dunk got the Saints going again, Day hit a three, and Green-Torbert found Pokorzynski for a fast-break slam that made it 64–62 with 1:34 left. Zubric pulled Aquinas within two again on a layup with 57 seconds remaining, but a Bethel three pushed the margin back to five. Pokorzynski kept the next possession alive with an offensive rebound off a missed free throw, and Green-Torbert buried a three off a Dickerson feed to make it 69–67 with 19 seconds left.
Pokorzynski then hauled in the rebound off a missed Bethel free throw, giving Aquinas the ball down two with a chance to tie or take the lead. The Saints had a timeout available and played on, but Dickerson's layup missed with five seconds left and Bethel secured the rebound. The Pilots made both free throws with three seconds remaining to go up 71–67, and Aquinas used its timeout before Bethel came up with a steal on the final possession.
Neither team found much rhythm at the stripe, with Bethel going 10-for-20 and Aquinas finishing 12-for-25. The Saints had five more attempts but scored only two more points at the line, missing 13 free throws in a four-point loss.
Aquinas moved to 2–1 on the season, while Bethel improved to 1–1.
Saints Snapshots
- Caden answered the bell. Pokorzynski led Aquinas with 20 points and eight rebounds, shooting 7-for-9 from the floor and 6-for-7 at the line. His two rebounds in the final half-minute set up Green-Torbert's three and gave the Saints one more possession down two.
- Lamont kept the door open. Green-Torbert hit three of his four looks from deep, including the one that made it a two-point game with 19 seconds left. He finished with 11 points, five assists and three steals off the bench.
- Nothing easy at the rim. Zubric blocked four shots and grabbed seven rebounds, then gave Aquinas two big finishes late. His dunk broke the scoring drought, and his layup brought the Saints back within two in the final minute.
- The ball found the right hands. Day handed out six assists, while Dickerson and Green-Torbert added five apiece. That ball movement helped bring the Saints back from seven down late, with each of their final five baskets coming off an assist.
- The extra chances added up. Aquinas turned Bethel's giveaways into 18 points, but the Pilots kept possessions alive with 15 offensive rebounds and cashed in for 22 second-chance points.
Coach's Comments
After a two-win opening weekend, the Saints had plenty to build on. Head coach Ryan Bertoia liked how his team played its way back into the game and pointed to the empty possessions and missed free throws as opportunities to grow.
"I liked the way our guys stayed with it. We had a stretch where we needed to get a better shot or find a way to get to the line, and we let a few empty trips pile up. When we do get to the line, we can't give away points at the stripe. But we kept guarding, we made some plays late, and we gave ourselves a chance. The next step for us is learning how to settle ourselves in that stretch so we're playing the last minute with the lead."
Up Next
The Saints get a week to regroup before another set of Saints comes to town. Aquinas hosts Holy Cross on Tuesday, November 10, at 7:30 p.m. on Coach Bo Court. Joey Sutherlin will have the call on the AQSaints Athletics Watch Live network.
Visit AQSaints.com for complete coverage of Aquinas men's basketball and all other Saints sports.
It's a great day to be a Saint.
