THE BASICS
Score: RV Madonna University 72, #24 Cornerstone University 59
Records: Madonna (9-5, 4-3 WHAC), CU (9-6, 4-3 WHAC)
Location: MU Activities Center - Livonia, Mich.
Turning Point: 14-0 run to being the game
LIVONIA, Mich. - It was the perfect start to the Christmas break for the Madonna University men's basketball team as they closed out the first semester of Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play with a 72-59 victory over 24th-ranked Cornerstone University inside the MU Activities Center on Saturday afternoon.
Dwight Burton, despite playing most of the contest with three fouls, led all scorers with 23 points while Joshua Reynolds tallied his second consecutive double-double and filled out the stat sheet as he finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block. Ryan McMullen was the one that had a career game off the bench with 10 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes as several Crusaders battled foul trouble throughout the night.
The Crusaders got off to a fast start as they sped out to a 14-0 lead and didn't allow a Golden Eagles basket until the 11:48 mark. The Golden Eagles seemed to wake up after a Tyler Baker three-pointer as the visitors from Grand Rapids scored 12 of the next 13 points to cut the lead to three, 15-12, with 7:09 left in the first. It was an event contest the rest of the half as the teams traded baskets and the Blue and Gold took a 27-23 lead into the break.
The pace of play in the second half ground to a halt with 34 fouls being issued, just two less than the Golden Eagles scored in the final 20 minutes of play. The Blue and Gold never trailed in the contest, but Cornerstone got to within three, 41-38, with 10:48 to play on four consecutive free throws, but Madonna answered as McMullen netted a tip-in, Reynolds converted a fast break layup and Henry Speight drained a triple to push the lead back to 10, 48-38. Another run by Cornerstone, this time six straight points, four at the line, cut the margin to four with 7:41 to play, but again MU responded as Speight scored three the hard way and a Reynolds layup pushed the lead back to nine, 55-46. The Crusaders went on to score the final six points for the 13-point margin of victory, capped by a McMullen tip-in.
The Crusaders finished the night shooting 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the field and 19 percent (4-of-21) from beyond the 3-point arc but converted 22-of-34 (64.7%) free throws in the win. They also outrebounded the Golden Eagles 45-41, and outscored CU in the paint 32-20. The defense limited Cornerstone to 17-of-58 (29.3%) shooting, 6-of-31 (19.4%) from long range and the Golden Eagles made 19-of-29 (65.5%) free throws.
Christian Rodriguez and Baker paced CU with 15 points each.
CRUSADER VISION
MILESTONE WATCH
- Madonna is 14 wins shy of 300 in the program's history
UP NEXT
- The Crusaders have a quick turnaround as they host second-ranked Indiana Wesleyan on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. As a thank you to our fans, there will be no admission charged for the contest.
- Live coverage will be available via the Madonna Athletics Network at www.mucrusaders.com/live.
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