WINONA LAKE, Ind. - The 2022-23 Madonna University men's basketball team did something no other team has done in program history on Tuesday night. The Crusaders defeated Olivet Nazarene University 94-67 in the first round of the NAIA Tournament at Grace College. It is the first NAIA Tournament victory in program history. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Madonna and ONU traded scores early on, as Henry Speight scored the first bucket of the contest for the Crusaders. The Tigers opened up a five-point lead with a little over 10 minutes remaining in the half, however the Crusaders quickly tied things at 23-23 after a layup by Matthew MacLellan. Again the teams traded baskets the rest of the half, but the Crusaders opened up a seven-point advantage with under a minute left in the period after a dunk by Mark Mettie. ONU responded by knocking down a three-point basket and making the score 43-39 Crusaders at the halftime break. On the statsheet, it was Mettie who led the way with 12 points and five rebounds in the first half, while Brendan Young posted eight points and hauled in four rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. As a team, Madonna shot 18-of-32 from the field in the first half. 

The second half is when the Crusader offense got rolling after a three-pointer and layup and Devin Dunn opened up the Madonna lead to eight points. A three-pointer by Mettie later in the half grew the lead to 10 points. After the Tigers cut the deficit to just three points with 12:56 to go, the Crusaders went on a 12-2 run that was capped off by a layup by Dunn, which resulted in an and-one. Madonna never looked back from there and pulled away from ONU, growing the advantage to 20+ points after a big three-pointer by who else? Devin Dunn. The Crusaders shot 7-of-13 from deep in the second half after only shooting 4-of-13 from three in the first half. Madonna made history and moved on to the second round of the tournament after outscoring the Tigers 51-28 in the final period. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 
 

• Madonna was led by Dunn with 23 points and five rebounds. He was 6-of-8 from three-point land and scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half. 
• Mettie finished his night with a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 14 boards. 
• Henry Speight added 17 points of his own, while Young added 11.
• Off the bench, Deric Murray posted 10 points. 
• The Crusaders shot 39-of-68 from the field. 
• Madonna tied a program record for wins in a season with 25.

UP NEXT:

The Crusaders take on top-seeded host Grace (Ind.) at 6:00 PM Wednesday, March 8th. The winner will move on to the NAIA Final Site in Kansas City. 

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