SLYVANIA, Ohio - The Madonna University men's basketball program went on the road to take on the No. 14 ranked Gray Wolves of Lourdes university Saturday afternoon. Madonna would end up dropping their first game in over two months as they fell 68-81 in overtime.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

In an highly anticipated matchup, the Crusaders started off 2-of-20 from the field and were down 17-5 with 8:55 left in the first half. Crusaders and Gray Wolves would trade a couple of threes, and Madonna found themselves trailing 23-11 with 5:37 left in the half. Then, a Jordan Graham three from the top of they key would spark a 17-2 Crusader run and just like that, the Blue and Gold were up 28-25 with 1:15 left. Headed into the break, the game was tied up 30-30. Jordan Graham was the leading scorer for Madonna with seven points, Brendan Young, Isaac Anderson, and Ethan Emerzian all had six. 

In the second half, it was a back and forth game  but with 6:31, the Crusaders started to gain the momentum back. Baskets from Graham and Matthew MacLellan would have the Crusaders leading by four, the next Crusader possession would lead to a MacLellan slam and the Crusaders were up 60-54 with 5:04 remaining. However, that would be the last field goal Madonna would make, Lourdes would turn things up defensivley and showed why they are a top 15 team in the country. The Crusaders would knock down a couple of free throws to make it 64-58, but the final three minutes was all Gray Wolves and this one, was headed into overtime. 

In the overtime period, Madonna seemed to have run out of gas. Lourdes went on a 14-0 run to ultimately claim the game, Madonna would loose their first game since November 4th  and their nine-game winning streak was snapped with a final score of 81-68.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Ethan Emerzian would lead the Crusaders with 20 points, and went 6-of-6 from three
• MacLellan would finish would a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds
• Anderson finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists
• Young also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds
• Young is now only 12 points away from 1,000 career points as well

UP NEXT:

The men's basketball program is back in action Wednesday when they travel to Lawrence Tech University to face off against the Blue Devils. The Blue Devils are coming off an 71-68 overtime victory over Lourdes that took place on January 3. The Crusaders and Blue Devils will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 10.

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