LIVONIA, Mich. - The Madonna University men's basketball team surged past Siena Heights University for an 81-57 WHAC victory on Saturday afternoon. The win pushes the Crusaders winning streak to six games with their record now 8-2 overall and 5-0 in conference play. SHU fell to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the WHAC following the defeat.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Both teams started slowly, with the Saints leading 6-4 at the first media timeout. Madonna collected themselves however and went on a 12-2 run to open up an eight point advantage. From there, the Crusaders forced the visiting Saints to play catch up. Madonna went into the locker room up 31-17 at the halftime break. Offensively Matthew MacLellan led Madonna with nine points in the first half, while Isaac Anderson posted eight points and hauled down seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Both teams struggled shooting from deep, with SHU going just 1-of-11 from three, while Madonna was 2-of-14. 

A pair of free throws by Anderson pushed the Madonna lead to 20 points early in the second half. The Crusaders maintained the advantage for a majority of the half and got a spark off the bench in Juan Cajelli. The big man scored eight second half points while Brendan Young scored 13 points and brought down six rebounds in the final period. The Saints never recovered from the halftime deficit, as Madonna cruised to the win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 

• Young finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in the victory. 
• Anderson just missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds. 
• MacLellan also added 16 points for the Crusaders. 
• Madonna was 28-of-66 from the field, while SHU finished the game going 23-of-59 from the floor. 
• The Saints were led by Brent Wiles and Colin Nutter with 12 points each. 

UP NEXT:

Madonna travels to Spring Arbor University to take on the Cougars at 7:00 PM Wednesday.

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