THE BASICS
Score: #9 Madonna University 72, Lourdes 68
Records: Madonna (6-2, 2-0 WHAC), Lourdes (3-3, 1-1 WHAC)
Location: Ebeid Rec Center, Sylvania, Ohio
Turning Point: 35-11 MU run in the first half to turn a 7-0 deficit into a 17-point lead
SYLVANIA, Ohio - The ninth-ranked Madonna University men's basketball team built a 17-point lead in the first half but had to withstand a furious second half rally by host Lourdes University to capture the 72-68 victory inside the Ebeid Rec Center on Wednesday night.
The Gray Wolves raced out to a 7-0 lead over the first four minutes, but then Henry Speight took over for the Blue and Gold as he scored the next 10 points and 13 straight for the Crusaders to turn a 7-0 deficit into a 13-9 lead. Lourdes kept the lead at four until the 10:38 mark in the first half, that's when the Crusaders went on a 10-0 run and scored 17-of-21 to take a game-high 17-point lead, 35-18. The Gray Wolves got to withing 13, but a Dwight Burton 3-pointer made it a 40-24 game at the half.
"We played as well as we have all year in the first half," said Crusaders' Head Coach Noel Emenhiser. "Guys played great defense, communicated really well and moved the ball."
Madonna held a double digit lead in opening five minutes of the second half until a 16-3 run by the home team cut the margin to three, 56-53 with 9:39 to play. The Blue and Gold scored eight of the next 12 points to go back up seven, 64-57. Lourdes used a 5-0 run to cut the lead back to two and did so twice more in the final five minutes. The home team had two chances to score in the final minute, but good MU defense forced a pair of tough looks and Burton converted a pair of free throws down the stretch for the final margin.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
- Speight finished with a game-high 26 points and tied Joshua Reynolds for the team lead with seven rebounds while Burton added 17 points, three rebounds and five assists
- Reynolds added 10 points and dished out four assists while Caleb Drumm also had 10 points
- Clif Snow led Lourdes with 14 points
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- 50/35.3: Madonna finished 11-for-20 (50%) from the 3-point arc and shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field while the defense held Lourdes to 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from long range and 49.1 percent (28-of-57) from the floor.
- 100: The Crusaders finished the game a perfect 13-for-13 from the field; it's the first time in program history Madonna has been perfect from the charity stripe
- 15-7: Madonna improved to 15-7 all-time against the Gray Wolves including a 9-3 road record
MILESTONE WATCH
- Madonna posted a perfect free throw percentage for the first time in school history
- Burton has 931 career points, 69 shy of 1,000 for his career
CRUSADER VISION
NOEL'S NOTIONS
- "In the second half they made some great adjustments and I was really out-coached, but our guys were resilient, made huge plays at both ends of the floor and found a way to get key stops to finish the game. It is hard to win on the road, in a tough atmosphere against a very good team and we were fortunate to do so tonight." - Emenhiser on the win
UP NEXT
- The Blue and Gold wrap up a three-game road trip when they return to action in Huntington, Indiana as they square off against Huntington University on Saturday, Nov. 23 with tip-off set for 3 p.m.
- Live coverage links will be available at www.mucrusaders.com.
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