THE BASICS
Score: Judson University (Ill.) 92, #9 Madonna University 91
Records: Madonna (0-1), Judson (1-0)
Location: Elgin, Illinois
 

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ELGIN, Ill. - The ninth-ranked Madonna University men's basketball team began the 2019-20 campaign on a sour note on Wednesday night as they fell to Judson University (Ill.) 92-91 on a 3-pointer at the buzzer. 

Mark Mettie had a career night and the Crusaders were in command for most of the contest, but a poor finish led to the early-season upset. 

The Blue and Gold got off to a slow start as they trailed by six, 15-9, less than eight minutes into the contest. A Dwight Burton 3-pointer and a pair of long balls from Henry Speight gave MU the lead, 22-19, but the home team didn't back down. Judson hung with Madonna until the 3:02 mark in the first half as the Crusaders used a 9-5 run to take a five-point, 41-36, lead into the break. 

The run continued in the second half as Madonna outscored Judson 24-10 over 7:14 to take the largest lead of the game, 56-41, with 16:03 to play. The Eagles slowly clawed their way back into the game and outscored the Crusaders 51-35 over the final 15:58 which included a 14-3 run over the final 3:01. 

Madonna had a fast break in the final 10 seconds of the game and drew a foul, but went 1-for-2 at the line before Jordan Johnson hit a 30-footer at the buzzer to seal MU's fate.

TURNING POINT

• An 8-0 Judson run over the final 30 seconds of the game

NOEL'S NOTIONS

• "Judson gave us their best tonight and we were not at ours. We did some really good things tonight, but we didn't execute down the stretch the way we are capable. I take full responsibility for the loss and not having out guys in position to succeed tonight and I will work to correct those mistakes. I think we will see a much better team moving forward." - Head Coach Noel Emenhiser on the loss

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

• Mettie had a career night as he scored a career-high 29 points to lead the Crusaders and grabbed six rebounds
• Burton finished with 21 points, six assists, and three steals while Joshua Reynolds added 17 points and tied Speight with a team-high eight rebounds

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 79.2: Madonna led for 79.2 percent of the contest
• 50+: The Crusaders shot 50.8 percent (31-of-61) from the field, but 36 percent (9-of-25) from the 3-point arc while Judson finished 34-of-67 (50.7%) from the floor and 10-of-20 (50%) from beyond the arc
• 42-32:  Madonna controlled the paint as they outscored JU 42-32 inside, but the Eagles won on the glass with 12 second-chance points to MU's three
• 0: The Blue and Gold went 0-for-4 from the field in the final 3:01 while Judson went 5-for-7

UP NEXT

• The Crusaders open the 2019-20 home slate on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 3 p.m. as they welcome #RV Bethel College (Ind.) to the MU Activities Center.
• Live coverage will be available via the Madonna Athletics Network at www.mucrusaders.com/live. 

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