ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights men's basketball team (0-2) returned to play with a conference game against Cornerstone and suffered a loss on Wednesday night. Newcomer for the Saints and transfer Curtis Bell III (Jr. | St. Paul, Minn.) led Siena as he earned 14 points, four rebounds, one assist, and one block.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Cornerstone 95, Siena Heights 54
Location: Adrian, Michigan (SHU Fieldhouse)
Records: Cornerstone (4-2, 1-0 WHAC), Siena Heights (0-2, 0-1 WHAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Golden Eagles came out hot as they earned a 13-0 run and never looked back. The Saints struggled offensively against Cornerstone's defense as they only shot 15% in the first half. Siena attempted to make a comeback as they cut the margin to 20 points (34-14) with a pair of layup made by Jordan Wyckoff (Sr. | Detroit, Mich.) but it wouldn't be enough as the Golden Eagles scored 13 straight points to end the first half with a score of 47-17. Despite the struggle, the Saints had some bright spots in their game during the first half as they were a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line while Wyckoff and Bell charge offensively as they respectively earned six points.
The second half was much like the first as Cornerstone dominated offensively with the largest lead in the game being 47 points in the final minutes of the game. Siena stepped up their game as they improved their shooting from the first half being 50% from the floor and 36.4% from beyond the arc. The Saints' bench proved themselves as they scored 31 points to help the push. The Golden Eagles finished the game with a 50% field-goal percentage, 33.3 three-point percentage, and a 90.5 free-throw percentage to win the game 95-54. Overall, Siena's strongest point in the game was their free-throws as they finished with a percentage of 75.
TOP SAINTS
• Bell went 4-5 from the floor, 1-2 on three-point attempts, and 5-7 from the charity stripe.
• Joshua Moody (So. | Detroit, Mich.) tallied 11 points and one rebound. He went 4-12 from the floor, 1-8 beyond the arc, and 2-2 on free-throw attempts.
• Wyckoff recorded eight points, four rebounds, and a team-high of two steals.
• Kevin Rice (Sr. | Detroit, Mich.) has a team-high of seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
THE OPPOSITION
• Tyler Baker led the Golden Eagles with 15 points and two rebounds. He went 5-6 from the floor, 3-4 on three-pointers, and 2-2 from the charity stripe.
• Riley Costen tallied 11 points and had a team-high of two steals while adding two assists.
• Carter Nyp earned 11 points, three assists, and one steal. He had a team-high of six rebounds.
• Christian Rodriguez has a team-high of five assists while recording four rebounds, one steal, and six points.
• Kyle Hayes and Eli Steffen respectively earned 10 points.
UP NEXT
The Saints will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. for a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) contest against Concordia (MI) on Saturday, January 30th. Tip-off is set for 3:00 PM.
