SYLVANIA, Ohio - In a battle for second place in the WHAC men's basketball standings, the Madonna University men's basketball team fell short at Lourdes University on Wednesday night, falling 96-87. The Crusaders are tied for third in WHAC standings with Rochester University, as both teams are 11-6 in conference play after the Warriors also lost against league leader Indiana Tech tonight. Madonna does hold the tie-breaker for third place over Rochester after sweeping the Warriors in both matchups earlier this season. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The host Gray Wolves came out fast as they opened the game with a 10-4 run. A three-pointer and a dunk by Mark Mettie got the Crusaders back to within three points, but Lourdes was able to control the majority of the half, opening up a seven point lead with 12:14 remaining that forced a Madonna timeout. The lead grew to 10 points as Madonna tried to keep up, but Lourdes hot shooting in the first half allowed the hosts to take a 47-34 lead into the halftime locker room. It was almost a 16 point deficit at the half but a long three-point basket by Henry Speight gave Madonna some momentum heading into the break. Statistically, Ethan Emerzian and Devin Dunn led the Crusaders with eight points each, while Lourdes had three players in double figures and shot 53% from the field. 

In the second half, Madonna began to mount a comeback after the Gray Wolves opened up a 19 point advantage with 14:34 left. The Crusaders got back to within 10 after a Deric Murray layup, however Lourdes responded once again and withstood any hopes Madonna had of getting back in the game. The Gray Wolves held their ground even after a 15-0 run by the Crusaders in the final half of play. At one point Madonna had cut the large Lourdes lead to just seven points, but it was too little too late as the hosts hit their shots down the stretch to pull away and earn the victory. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 

• Emerzian led the Crusaders with a season-high 21 points off the bench. He was 5-of-7 from deep.
• With his 15 points tonight, Mark Mettie moved into fourth in school history for points in a career, passing Travis Schuba (2010-14).
• Mettie also pulled down eight rebounds. 
• Henry Speight added 15 points of his own while Devin Dunn had 11 and Blake Banks 10. 
• Little Anderson led Lourdes with a game-high 24 points. 

UP NEXT:

Madonna travels to nearby University of Michigan-Dearborn to take on the Wolverines at 3:00 PM Saturday, February 11th from the UM-Dearborn Fieldhouse.

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