THE BASICS
Score: #24 Madonna University 81, Lawrence Technological University 72
Record: MU (23-8), LTU (13-17)
Location: MU Activities Center - Livonia, Mich.
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LIVONIA, Mich. – The 24th-ranked and second-seeded Madonna University men's basketball team withstood a double-digit second half lead from seventh-seeded Lawrence Technological University in the first round of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament to take an 81-72 win in front of 313 fans inside the MU Activities Center.
The win moves the Crusaders to 23-8 on the season and into the WHAC Semifinals where they will face third-seed Indiana Tech for the third time this season on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. The event will be a Blue Out - all Madonna fans are asked to wear their Madonna blue and pack the MuAC!
The turning point in the victory was the Crusaders defense going to a zone in the final 13 minutes that helped turn a 12-point deficit into a nine point win. Madonna's defense sparked the offense to a 39-18 run to close the game.
Dwight Burton netted 25 of his team-best 27 points in the second half while Mark Mettie added 15 points on an efficient 4-of-8 from the field. Jonathan Swift dropped 13 points, 11 in the first half, and Antonio Capaldi played great defense, fought for some tough rebounds and finished with 10 points, six rebounds and a pair of huge 3-pointers.
The biggest difference for the offense in the second half was shooting beyond the 3-point arc as the team went 6-for-13 in the second half after hitting just 2-of-15 in the opening period. Madonna also converted at the free throw line where they finished 17-of-25 while LTU went 12-for-15 from the charity stripe.
The Blue Devils scored the game's first six points, but the teams proceeded to trade the lead throughout the first half. It was Madonna who took the momentum into the break as Mettie through down a highlight reel alley-oop (video below) from Swift to tie the score at 32.
Burton and Swift scored the first four points of the second half, but Lawrence Tech responded with a 22-6 run over the next 5:34 to take a 12-point, 54-42, lead with 13:03 to play. After a Joshua Reynolds free throw ended the run, the Blue and Gold moved to the zone defense and began their rally. A pair of Clarke Lamb steals turned into five points on a Capaldi dunk and a Burton 3-pointer, and combined with a Burton layup to cut the deficit to five. Lawrence Tech drilled a 3-pointer of their own, but then the Crusaders took over for good. Burton scored three the hard way then hit a fast break 3-pointer, Capaldi followed with a trey of his own and Burton capped the 12-0 run with another 3-point play to go up 63-59. Madonna never trailed the rest of the way to secure it's spot in Saturday's semifinal.
CRUSADER VISION
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- Watch the video to see what Capaldi, Swift, Mettie and Head Coach Noel Emenhiser had to say about the win.
UP NEXT
- The Crusaders host third-seeded Indiana Tech in the WHAC semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. The game is a blue out and Madonna fans are encouraged to wear their Madonna Blue and help Pack the MuAC!
- Live coverage of the Crusaders chase for a second WHAC title in program history will be available via the Madonna Athletics Network at www.mucrusaders.com/live.
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