THE BASICS
Score: #24 Madonna University 62, Rochester University 78
Records: Madonna (20-8, 12-6 WHAC), Rochester (17-9, 10-7 WHAC)
Location: Garth Pleasant Arena - Rochester, Mich.
Turning Point: 10-0 RU run with 7:00 left in the contest
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Garth Pleasant Arena was anything but pleasant to the 24th-ranked Madonna University men's basketball team in a 78-62 loss to Rochester University on Wednesday night. The loss drops the Crusaders to third in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference standings with two games to play.
The two teams played to a tie at 11 for the first 3:15, but a 12-2 run by the Warriors made it 23-13. A pair of Ryan Nunn free throws and a 3-pointer highlighted a 7-0 MU run to cut the margin to three, but RU quickly pushed the lead back to 10. After trailing 36-27 a the half, MU was able to get the deficit to single digits several times, but a 10-0 run by the Warriors over 1:30 of game time with 7:00 to play push the lead to 19, 69-50, and the Crusaders never recovered.
It was a tough night at both ends for the Blue and Gold as the offense struggled to find a rhythm and the defense lacked most of the evening. The Crusaders committed 13 turnovers and shot 36.7 percent (22-of-60) from the field and went 6-of-21 (28.6%) from the 3-point arc, both are near season-lows.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Mark Mettie recorded his third straight double-double and fourth in six games with 11 points and 14 rebounds
- Joshua Reynolds finished with 21 points (14 in the second half) to go with eight rebounds and two steals while Dwight Burton netted 11 points and had four assists
- Nunn finished with a career-high 12 points as he converted 3-of-4 from beyond the arc
- Madonna is now 2-6 this season when shooting less than 45 percent from the floor and 9-33 against RU all-time
NOEL'S NOTIONS
- "I have not been able to keep this team from becoming complacent after stretches of success this season. We played our best basketball of the season in the last four games, but we didn't prepare to the level we need to in this league to win. Our effort and preparation showed that we did not expect our opponent to be as tough, physical or determined as they were tonight." - Head Coach Noel Emenhiser on the loss
- "Our inability to adjust and improve when things are going well is the reason that we are not in position to win a conference title with two games remaining in the regular season." - Emenhiser on the WHAC standings
MILESTONE WATCH
- Madonna is three wins shy of 300 in the program's history
- Madonna has back-to-back 20 win seasons for just the second time in program history (12-13 (25), 13-14 (20))
- Reynolds passed DJ Bridges (2004-08, 1,499) and Chris Dierker (2013-18, 1,483) to move into sixth on the all-time scoring list with 1,500 points
- He is 17 points behind Brandon Slone (1993-97) for fifth on the all-time list
- He is the sixth player in program history to score 1,500 points
- Burton is 10th on the all-time scoring list with 1,372 points...he's 12 shy of Mike Maryanski's 1,384 points (1999-04) for ninth all-time
UP NEXT
- The Crusaders wrap up the regular-season road slate when they return to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 19 in Ann Arbor as they face Concordia University - Ann Arbor with tipoff set for 7 p.m.
- Live coverage links will be available at www.mucrusaders.com.
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