THE BASICS
WHAC Semifinals
Score: #14 Madonna University 97, Rochester University 83
Records: Madonna (24-8), Rochester (22-10)
Location: MU Activities Center - Livonia, Mich.
Turning Point: 12-2 MU run from 14:19 to 10:47 in second half
 

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LIVONIA, Mich. - The 14th-ranked and second-seeded Madonna University men's basketball team earned the right to host the program's first-ever Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference championship game with a 97-83 win over third-seeded Rochester University inside a packed MU Activities Center on Saturday afternoon.

Madonna will play for its second-ever WHAC tournament championship on Monday, March 2 as they host 10-time WHAC tournament champions, Cornerstone University, at 7 p.m.

As for the semifinal victory, the Crusaders were in control from the start, led by Joshua Reynolds who scored 14 of MU's first 25 points as part of a 25-6 run to open the contest. The Warriors scored 14-of-18 to cut the margin to nine, but MU countered with a 19-7 run of their own, highlighted by a massive Dwight Burton fastbreak slam to push the lead to a first-half high 21 points, 48-27. RU outscored MU 14-9 over the final three minutes of the half to make it a 16-point, 57-41, Crusaders lead at the break.

The Warriors came out on fire to start the final 20 minutes as they scored 11-of-16 to make it a 10-point game once again with 14:48 left. A Burton 3-pointer ended the run and Henry Speight drained a triple the next time down the court and it sparked a 12-2 run by the home team, punctuated by a Juwan Hampton fastbreak, two-handed dunk to push the lead back to 20, 74-54. Rochester never got closer than 15 until the final 36 seconds of the contest as MU punched it's ticket to the program's second WHAC tournament championship game. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Burton and Reynolds each finished with a game-high 25 points while Burton added four assists and each had three rebounds and a steal
• Speight finished with his sixth double-double as he scored 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 3-of-3 from the 3-point arc and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line, to go with 10 rebounds
• The x-factor was Hampton who provided 16 points off the bench to go with five rebounds and two steals
• The teams combined to miss three free throws in the contest as MU finished 17-for-18 from the charity stripe while RU converted 17-of-19
• Madonna posted its third-best 3-point percentage of the season at 52.2 percent (12-of-23)

CRUSADER VISION




MILESTONE WATCH

• Madonna's 24 wins are the second-most in a single season behind the 2012-13 team's program-record 25
• Reynolds remains fifth on the all-time scoring list with 1,587 career points
  • He is the sixth player in program history to score 1,500 points
  • Only four players have scored 1,600 points in MU history
• Burton passed Chris Dierker (2013-18, 1,483) on the all-time scoring list with 1,486 career points
  • Burton has achieved the feat in 65 games, the only player in the top-10 to play in less than 90 career games

UP NEXT

• The Crusaders will host the WHAC tournament championship for the first time in program history on Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m. as they host fifth-seed Cornerstone 
• Live coverage of the game will be available via the Madonna Athletics Network at www.mucrusaders.com/live. 

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