THE BASICS
Score: Madonna 88, University of Northwestern Ohio 78
Record: MU (19-8, 12-5 WHAC), UNOH (8-19, 4-13 WHAC)
Location: MU Activities Center - Livonia, Mich.

LIVONIA, Mich. – The Madonna University men's basketball team, which received votes in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll, followed the upset of NAIA No. 7 Cornerstone University with another strong performance to down the University of Northwestern Ohio Racers, 88-78, on Wednesday night at the MU Activities Center. Dwight Burton, Joshua Reynolds and Mark Mettie all finished in double figures to pace the offense.

With the win and a loss by Indiana Tech, the Crusaders move into second place in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference standings with three games to play.

The Blue and Gold raced out to an early 11-2 lead led by the trio of Burton (seven points), Reynolds (two points) and Mettie (two points), but the Racers quickly responded as they outscored the Crusaders by 11 points over the next six minutes to take their only leads of the game, 21-19 and 23-21. Antonio Capaldi put MU back in front with a transition 3-pointer and a Ryan McMullen layup followed by a Burton fastbreak layup and-1, pushed the lead back to six. UNOh got to within one, 34-33, but a pair of Mettie free throws and five points from Reynolds gave the home team the 41-35 lead at the break.

After the Lima, Ohio program cut the lead to four, Reynolds and Mettie combined for 10-straight points, highlighted by an alley-oop throwdown by the 6-foot-10 freshman, to push the lead to 14. UNOH was able to cut the lead in half to 58-51, but then the Crusaders pulled away for good. KJ Sayer cut down the lane to excite the crowd then three consecutive 3-pointers from Reynolds gave MU a game-high 18-point advantage. The Racers cut the lead to nine multiple times in the final five minutes, byt The Crusaders responded down the stretch and Burton put an exclamation point on the victory with a fastbreak dunk in the final minute.

TURNING POINT

• The 11-0 run from 13:18-10:28 in the second half that turned a 7-point lead into an 18-point margin

NOEL'S NOTIONS

• "This was one of our better games from start to finish. They made a few runs, but they are a tough team. I thought we executed very well at times, guys got to spots and were in position to be successful. I thought our defense was extremely impressive at times, but we need to find consistency at that end from start to finish. We let them have a few runs and I felt it was more a dip of effort on our part." - Head Coach Noel Emenhiser on the game
• "Mark has really grown as the season has gone on and I think he benefits, not only from other teams paying attention to our guards, but also our guards passing ability. He's doing a great job utilizing his strengths and is gaining confidence every night. The way he rebounds and finishes at the rin are great for our team and we will need him moving forward." - Emenhiser on Mark Mettie

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

• Reynolds finished with a game-high 28 points and added seven rebounds, six assists and two steals while Burton tallied 25 points and dished out a team-best seven assists to go with two steals. Mettie netted 18 and grabbed nine rebounds while Clarke Lamb matched his career high with four assists.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Reynolds' 3-point field goal percentage (.750; 6-of-8) is tied for the second best mark in a single game in team history
• The Crusaders' 23 assists are the third most in a game this season behind 26 vs Olivet and 24 against East-West
• Madonna outrebounded UNOH 30-25, the third straight game MU has won on the glass and 5-of-6
• The Blue and Gold also won inside as the outscored the Racers 42-36 in the paint and turned 14 turnovers into 19 points with 13 on the fastbreak

UP NEXT

• The Crusaders hit the road to wrap up the season with three tough contests beginning on Saturday, Feb. 9 when they head to Dearborn to face University of Michigan-Dearborn at 3 p.m.
• Live stats will be available here, with live video here. Links will also be available at www.mucrusaders.com.

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