LIVONIA, Mich. -- The Siena Heights men's basketball team earned a victory over Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) opponent Madonna, on Saturday Afternoon. DeMarco Dickerson (Senior, Detroit, Mich.) led the Saints with 29 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Siena Heights 74, Madonna 72
Location: Livonia, Michigan (MU Activities Center)
Records: Siena Heights (4-6, 2-2 WHAC), Madonna (7-4, 2-2 WHAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded possession throughout the first half as the score remained close. The Saints earned a cushion with the biggest lead of the half (22-11) as they scored 12 points sparked by a jump shot made by Kevin Rice (Junior, Detroit, Mich.) at the 14:58 mark. The Crusaders fought back to cut the deficit a few points but SHU kept the momentum going as they earned a 13-point lead (30-17) after Dickerson made a layup with 6:31 left of play. Madonna cut the margin to eight-points (34-26) after a pair of free throws were made by Dwight Burton with 27 seconds remaining of the first half. The score would remain there as both teams headed into the locker room.
The Saints jumped out to a 11-point lead after Rice made a jump shot at the 16:37 mark. The Crusaders were only down by four-points after Joshua Reynolds made a pair of free throws with 13:09 left to play. The remainder of the half remained neck and neck as both teams had possession changes. Madonna rallied to tie things up at 62's after a layup by Burton was good. The Crusaders would then take the two-point lead (70-68) after another layup was made by Burton with 2:06 remaining in the game. SHU tied things up at 72's after a pair of free throws were made by Keith Jordan Jr. (Senior, Toledo, Ohio) with 52 seconds left of play. Dickerson made a jump shot for the Saints with five seconds left of the game and the final push for Madonna came up short giving them the 74-72 victory.
TOP SAINTS
• Dickerson shot 12-20 from the floor and 3-3 from the charity stripe.
• Jordan had 20 points, a team-high of seven rebounds, had two steals, and one block.
• Rice tallied 11 points, had five rebounds, one assist, two blocks, and went 5-8 from the floor.
THE OPPOSITION
• Reynolds led the Crusaders with 25 points, four rebounds, went 7-12 from the floor, and 8-10 from the free-throw line.
• Henry Speight had 15 points, a team-high of 10 rebounds, two assists, and went 5-6 on free-throw attempts.
• Burton had 13 points, four rebounds, and a team-high of six assists.
UP NEXT
The Saints return home to face Aquinas in a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) contest on Wednesday, December 4th. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 8:00 p.m., EST.
