LIVONIA, Mich. – The Madonna Crusaders Men's Basketball team (17-9, 13-5) celebrated their seniors on home court as they took on the University of Michigan-Dearborn Wolverines (7-19, 5-13).
 
It would be a senior night to remember for the Crusaders as they would capture their 10th consecutive win, in front of a home crowd for the final time in the regular season.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

There would be a lot of emotions as well as anticipation going into the game, the Crusaders playing in front of a home crowd full of friends and family on senior night and senior Ethan Emerzian eight points away from hitting a milestone 1000 career points.
 
Senior Satchel Love would get the arena going with a dunk to open the scoring for the Crusaders. The game would keep its frenetic pace for the majority of the first half, fuelled by a crowd of friends, family, and Crusader Men's Basketball alumnus. The Wolverines would capture their first lead in the contest around 13 minutes in but the Crusaders would start to generate some momentum as the nerves settled, MacLellan getting the building going once again with a dunk followed by a big block down at the other end. The Crusaders would struggle from the field, but would remain strong driving the net, senior Ahmoni Weston finishing off a pretty drive and layup to finish with eight points and five rebounds in the first half. MacLellan would stay fired up, capturing 12 points in the first half. Emerzian would have a bit of a slow start, but would go on a run to capture three layups in a row in the final minutes of the first, ending the half with six points in two-and-a-half minutes. The half would end with the Crusaders leading 40-34.
 
The energy would remain high in the second, Weston opening the scoring off of a turnover initiated by senior Brendan Young. Although they only shot 34-for-69 from the field, the Crusaders remained dominant down low, capturing 58 points in the paint. The score would stay in favour of the Crusaders throughout the second, Young spearheading a dominant performance with impressive back-to-back blocks with roughly seven to go in the half. Emerzian would hit his milestone career 1000 points, he and his fellow seniors remaining the stars of the night for the Crusaders. To close off the night would be a highlight-worthy drive by senior Nic Sweeney helping the home side capture a win of 88-to-68.
 
With their tenth-straight win, the Crusaders go to 14-and-five in the conference to hold down the third place slot in the WHAC standings.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Emerzian needed eight and got eight to become the 20th Crusader in program history to capture 1000 Career Points.
• MacLellan would hit double digits for the 19th straight game with 15 points as well as and capture a season high three blocks and two steals
• Young would end his night with 23 points and eight rebounds
• Weston would end his night with 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists, 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

 
UP NEXT:

The Crusaders will be back in action on the road against Lawrence Tech. in what will be their final regular season game. Tip-off is set for 3:00 PM at Don Ridler Field House.
 
CONNECT WITH THE CRUSADERS: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
SUBSCRIBE/DOWNLOAD TEAM SCHEDULES: Download Center
DOWNLOAD THE NEW MOBILE APP: Google Play | iOS