THE BASICS
Score: #RV Madonna University 94, #21 University of Michigan-Dearborn 87
Records: Madonna (14-5, 6-3 WHAC), UM-Dearborn (13-5, 6-2 WHAC)
Location: UM-Dearborn Fieldhouse - Dearborn, Mich.
Turning Point: A 31-11 Madonna run in the second half to tie the game at 65
DEARBORN, Mich. - It took a career-high 42 points from
Dwight Burton, but the Madonna University men's basketball team came back from a 24-point deficit to defeat No. 21 University of Michigan-Dearborn 94-87 in overtime inside the UM-Dearborn Fieldhouse on Wednesday. The win is the seventh straight for the Crusaders.
After nearly a week off, the Blue and Gold got off to one of their worst starts of the season as the home team built a 24-point first-half lead and went into the break up 23, 40-17. Things didn't seem to look much better to start the second half as the Wolverines led by 20, 54-34, with 13:20 to play.
A Henry Speight layup followed by a Burton layup and some solid defense started to turn the tide and the Crusaders used a 31-11 scoring run over the next 7:24 of game time to tie the game at 65 on a Burton layup. The teams traded the lead over the final 5:05 with the Wolverines hitting a game-tying 3-pointer with six seconds left in regulation to knot the score at 79.
It was all Burton in the extra period as the senior netted 13 of MU's 15 points to lead them to the comeback win. Burton finished overtime 2-for-2 from the floor and 9-of-10 at the free throw line while Mark Mettie added a pair of free throws.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Burton's 42 points are three points shy of Mike Massey's program record 45 against Fanshawe on Nov. 3, 2000. Burton shot an impressive 12-of-19 from the floor with two 3-pointers and 16-of-18 at the charity stripe...He also added five rebounds and four assists
- Burton combined with Speight (22) and Joshua Reynolds (20) to score 86 of Madonna's points...Speight added eight rebounds while Reynolds grabbed seven
- Mettie tied Speight for the team lead with eight rebounds and tallied a career-best five blocks
- Madonna put up 62 points in the second half as they shot 74.1 percent (20-of-27) from the field, 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the 3-point arc and 12-of-13 from the line after making just 1-of-14 three-pointers in the first half and going 6-of-29 from the floor
NOEL'S NOTIONS
- "I'm disappointed I didn't have us more prepared in the first half. We were slow, quiet, locked communication and didn't move the ball. The guys really took ownership at halftime and committed to playing defense, rebounding and fighting for loose balls. The effort and desire in the two halves are reflected in the numbers. We were able to get our in transition in the second half, Josh hit some really big shots to give us some momentum and Dwight was Dwight. He got to the rim and converted at the line. While the offense was key, the defense is was made the difference. Mark was big down low blocking shots, Dwight and Josh played well in the press and everyone stepped up on defense and it allowed our offense to come to life." - Head Coach Noel Emehiser
CRUSADER VISION
MILESTONE WATCH
- Madonna is nine wins shy of 300 in the program's history
- Reynolds remains ninth on the all-time Madonna scoring list with 1,288 points
- Burton remains 11th on the scoring list with 1,191 points in just 52 career games
UP NEXT
- The Crusaders will have another week off before they return home to face Concordia University - Ann Arbor on Wednesday, Jan. 15 with tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
- Live coverage will be available via the Madonna Athletics Network at mucrusaders.com/live.
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