LIMA, Ohio -- The Siena Heights men's basketball fell to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) opponent Northwestern Ohio 82-81, on Wednesday night. DeMarco Dickerson (Senior, Detroit, Mich.) led the Saints with 27 points and seven rebounds as he became the 39th player in Siena Heights men's basketball history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Northwestern Ohio 82, Siena Heights 81
Location: Lima, Ohio (The Garage)
Records: Northwestern Ohio (10-17, 6-11 WHAC), Siena Heights (12-15, 9-9 WHAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Saints jumped out to a 5-2 lead at the 17:10 mark after a jumper by Kevin Rice (Junior, Detroit, Mich.) was good. The Racers tied things up at 7's as Nathan Lessing made a three-pointer with 16:01 on the clock. Siena gained some momentum as they earned a seven-point lead (14-7) as PJ Austin (Senior, Cleveland, Ohio) drained a three-pointer with 14:22 left on the clock. UNOH rallied to cut the deficit to two points (26-24) as a layup was good by Justin Koepp with 7:08 left in the first half. The Saints increased the score to nine-points (38-29) as Dickerson made a layup. Elijah Pughsley made a layup for the Racers to decrease the margin to two-points (39-37) at intermission.
UNOH took their first lead of the game (44-43) after Lessing made a jump shot at the 17:03 mark. Siena kept them within reach as neither team lead by two for half of the second half. The Racers earned a double-digit lead as Pughsley made a three-point shot with 13:14 on the clock. The Saints chipped away to tie things up at 61's as Dickerson made a pair of free throws and a layup was good by Jon Hovermale (Senior, Livonia, Mich.) with 7:26 remaining. UNOH leaped out to a six-point lead (69-63) as Bailey Gardner made a jump shot. Siena cut the deficit to 76-74 after Dickerson made a layup with 1:35 left of play. The Racers had a four-point lead (82-78) as Zach Montes and Pughsley respectively made a free throw. Kevin Smith II (Senior, Columbus, Ohio) drained a three-point shot at the last second but it wouldn't be enough for the Saints.
TOP SAINTS
• Dickerson had a team-high of seven assists and three steals. He went 10-24 from the floor and 7-8 from the charity stripe.
• Smith contributed 17 points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal. He went 7-12 from the floor, 2-4 from beyond the arch, and 1-2 on free throw-attempts.
• Keith Jordan Jr. (Senior, Toledo, Ohio) tallied 14 points, a team-high of eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals. He went 5-9 from the floor, 1-4 on three-point attempts, and 3-4 from the charity stripe.
THE OPPOSITION
• Pughsley led the Racers with 38 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a team-high of three steals. He went 11-19 from the floor, 4-10 from beyond the arch, and 12-14 from the charity stripe.
• Lessing earned 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, and one block. He went 4-12 from the floor, 2-4 on three-point attempts, and 1-2 on free-throw attempts.
• Isaac Golson Jr. contributed 10 points, three rebounds, and two assists. He went 4-10 from the floor and 2-6 from beyond the arch.
• Justin Koepp had a team-high of 11 rebounds and Montes had a team-high of four assists.
UP NEXT
The Saints face Lawrence Tech in a road Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) contest on Saturday, February 15th. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 3:00 p.m., EST.
