LIMA, Ohio. –  The Madonna Men's Basketball team hit the road to take on the University of Northwestern Ohio Racers. After a tight first half, Madonna pulled away with a dominant 102-73 win on the road in their first Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) matchup of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Racers came out tough, going point-for-point with the Crusader right out of the gate. After an 11-3 run, the Racers took an early lead. The Crusaders hung tough, quickly turning the game around with a run of their own, including seven quick points by Brendan Young to give Madonna a 28-25 lead. A steal and two fast-break layups by Deric Murray helped the Crusaders to extend their lead to 38-30 with four minutes remaining in the first half. The Crusaders dominated the paint late in the second half, including five points by Mark Mettie which led them to head into halftime with a nine-point lead.

The Crusaders came out of halftime on fire. Shots began falling left and right, extending their lead to eighteen points before the Racers knew what hit them. Blake Banks became electric midway through the second half, with a slam dunk, steal, and three-point shot to help the Crusaders pull ahead by 24. A six-point run by Murray would soon put the Crusaders up 29. Madonna held on to its lead without breaking at all in the last ten minutes, closing out the Racers 102-73 and securing their first Conference win of the season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Five different Crusaders finished in double-figure in scoring tonight 
• Young led the Crusaders with 22 points, knocked down four threes and pulled in five rebounds
• Murray finished with 16 points and five assists
• Mettie wrapped up with 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists
• Henry Speight would an efficient night as he shot 6-8 from the field for 14 points
• Banks gave the Crusaders a spark off the bench finishing with 13 points, six rebounds and four steals

UP NEXT

The Crusaders return home to Livonia, Michigan on Saturday, November 12th to take on the No. 25 ranked Indiana Tech Warriors at 3:00 p.m. at ACCU Arena.
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