weston v cu
Nick Pietras - Madonna Athletics
92
Winner Madonna MADONNA 3-6, 1-3
69
Defiance College (OH) DEFIANCE 3-7, 1-4
Winner
Madonna MADONNA
3-6, 1-3
92
Final
69
Defiance College (OH) DEFIANCE
3-7, 1-4
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Madonna MADONNA 46 46 92
Defiance College (OH) DEFIANCE 32 37 69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Kellen Burke

Crusaders shut down Yellow Jackets; secure first WHAC win

DEFIANCE, Ohio - Looking to snap their losing streak and secure their first conference win of the season, the Madonna Crusaders (2-6, 0-3) headed south of the state border to face the newest member of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference; the Defiance College Yellow Jackets (3-6, 1-3). Without one of their key players in Brendan Young, the Crusaders stepped up in a big way en route to securing the victory and their first conference win of the 2024-25 season, 92-69.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

After a series of slow starts to their last few games, the Crusaders decided to kill that narrative as they came out firing from the jump. Guard Ahmoni Weston scored on the game's first possession off of an assist from Isaac Anderson. Coming back down the court, forward Sho-Ron Graham would knock down a three-pointer to take a 5-0 lead after two possessions. Another Crusader big-man would find the net from behind the arc as Matthew MacLellan scored from deep as the Crusaders scored on all three of their first possessions.

The Crusaders would remain confidently ahead in the opening eight minutes, until the Yellow Jackets found their rhythm and began to close the gap. Just when it seemed the Yellow Jackets were on their heels, the Crusaders would go on a run capped off with a dunk by MacLellan to give them a ten-point lead; their longest of the night. With five minutes to play in the half, the Crusaders led 35-25.

The Crusaders would only extend their lead in the final minutes as they led 46-32 going into the break. The Crusaders led for the entirety of the first half after scoring in the opening fifteen seconds of the game. 

The Crusaders would continue to stretch their lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Five minutes in, Ethan Emerzian would give the Crusaders their first twenty-point lead of the game with a three-point jump shot to make it a 62-40 game.

The Crusaders would continue to shut down the Yellow Jackets defensively as their offense stayed hot to close out the game, winning 92-69.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
  • MacLellan was 8-of-11 shooting with 22 points.
  • Weston was 8-of-12 shooting with 17 points.
  • Nikola Sasaroga scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
  • Anderson led the team in rebounds and assists with nine and five respectively, and score double-digits with 10 points.
UP NEXT:

The Crusaders will return to ACCU Arena on Saturday, where they will face the Rochester Christian University Warriors (6-2, 1-2) at 3:00 pm on December 7.
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