WHAC Champions 2024
Kellen Burke - MU Sports Media
The Crusaders bring home the WHAC 2023-24 regular season champions trophy prior to their Semi-Finals matchup against the Blue Devils.
78
Lawrence Tech LAWRENCE 20-10, 15-7
84
Winner Madonna MADONNA 25-5, 19-3
Lawrence Tech LAWRENCE
20-10, 15-7
78
Final
84
Madonna MADONNA
25-5, 19-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Lawrence Tech LAWRENCE 31 47 78
Madonna MADONNA 31 53 84

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Kellen Burke

Crusaders win rematch with Blue Devils; head to WHAC Championship

LIVONIA, Mich. - One week after upsetting the Madonna Crusaders (24-5, 19-3) in the final game of the regular season, the Blue Devils of Lawrence Tech (20-9, 15-7) returned to ACCU Arena today for a rematch in the semi-finals of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament. While the Crusaders came out scorching, jumping ahead to an early lead, the Blue Devils reminded them that they are not a team that goes down easy. The back-and-forth matchup turned out to be another classic matchup between these two crosstown rivals, coming down to the very last buzzer. In a storybook ending, the Crusaders would find themselves on top of the team that spoiled their evening on Senior Day, led by their first-team all-conference forward Brendan Young with 28 points and ten rebounds, including the final two free throws that iced the game in their favor. The Crusaders would take a 84-78 win in their redemption game over the Blue Devils and punch their ticket to the WHAC Tournament Championship on March 5th, where they will face the Cornerstone University Golden Eagles (23-7, 17-5).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Prior to the game, the Crusaders celebrated their season with the presentation of the WHAC Regular Season Champions trophy. They also celebrated their other individual awards, including the awards for the Crusaders' all-conference team players Brendan Young (1st), Isaac Anderson (1st), and Matthew MacLellan (2nd), as well as celebrating head coach Noel Emenhiser for being named WHAC Coach of the Year.

The Crusaders started things off with a 12-3 run in the opening five minutes, as they set the tone for the game. Anderson drew first blood with a three-pointer from the wing, followed up with layups by him, Young, and senior guard Devin Dunn to take the early lead. Capping off their run was junior center Matthew MacLellan with a slam dunk to give the Crusaders a nine-point lead just five minutes into play.

The Crusaders would begin to cool off during the middle ten-minutes of the first half, while the Blue Devils began to slowly chip away at the Crusaders' lead. With six minutes left in the half, the Blue Devils knotted it up at 20-20. While the Blue Devils began to heat up from the field, the Crusaders continued to play aggressive and not let up. With two minutes left, forward Sho-Ron Graham would lay down a dunk to give the Crusaders a four-point lead. The Blue Devils would take the lead back before halftime, but Young would drain a deep-two in the final seconds to tie the game at 31-31 going into the break.

After getting a chance to regroup, the Crusaders came out of halftime with two explosive plays; first, a dunk by MacLellan on the opening possession, then a fastbreak three-pointer by Young on the next. The Crusaders held onto the lead, but the Blue Devils would not go down easy, shrinking their lead immediately whenever the Crusaders would begin to pull ahead. Five minutes into the half, the Crusaders held onto a seven-point lead, their largest of the half, after a three-pointer from senior guard Ryan Nunn and a contested layup from Young. However, the Blue Devils would go on a run of their own to follow, stealing their first lead of the half with twelve minutes left to play: Crusaders down 55-54. 

For the next five minutes, neither team could gain more than two-points of breathing room as the lead traded back-and-forth. The Crusaders would finally get a four-point lead with five minutes remaining in play, as MacLellan dropped his third dunk of the night on the Blue Devils. The Blue Devils would swiftly cut the lead back to two, but Young would stretch it back to five with a deep-three. 

The Crusaders would hold on by two baskets for a remainder of the final few minutes as the Blue Devils seemingly ran out of steam. However, with the Crusaders holding onto a four-point lead in the final minute, the Blue Devils would begin to play foul-tag. With eleven-seconds left, they would send Young to the line, where he would drain both shots and ice the Blue Devils with a two-possession lead. Taking an 84-78 lead, the Crusaders would punch their ticket to the WHAC Tournament Championship Game for the third-straight season where they will face the Cornerstone University Golden Eagles. The Crusaders will have a chance to be the first team to sweep both the WHAC regular season and tournament championships since Cornerstone during the 2016-17 season.

INSIDE NUMBERS:
  • Young led the team to victory with 28 points and ten rebounds on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, along with four assists.
  • Young did not miss a shot in the second half, going 4-of-4 from the field, 3-of-3 from behind the arc, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
  • Anderson scored 16 points with four assists and four rebounds. 
  • MacLellan scored 15 points while also contributing four rebounds, one block and one steal.
  • Dunn scored eight points with four assists and grabbed eight rebounds.
  • As a team, the Crusaders shot 63% from the field and 67% from three in the second half.
UP NEXT: 

Heading into the final game before the NAIA National Tournament, the Crusaders will see the Cornerstone Golden Eagles (23-7, 17-5), who they split with in the regular season, back at ACCU Arena in the WHAC Tournament Championship. The Crusaders will have a chance to be the first team to sweep both the WHAC regular season and tournament championships since Cornerstone during the 2016-17 season. The showdown is set for Tuesday, March 5th, time TBD.

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