GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Siena Heights men's basketball team dropped an away WHAC (Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference) game 72-62 against Aquinas on Wednesday night. Kevin Rice (Sr. | Detroit, Mich.) led Siena with a career-high of 29 points, a team-high of eight rebounds, a team-high of four assists, and a team-high of five steals.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Aquinas 72, Siena Heights 62
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich. | Sturrus Center
Records: Aquinas (2-6, 2-5 WHAC), Siena Heights (1-6, 1-5 WHAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The only lead Siena had over Aquinas was by one point in the opening minutes of the game as Rice made a layup that was assisted by Jay Kirby (Jr. | Farmington Hills Mich.). Aquinas jumped out to a 12-4 lead at the 13:38 mark as Gabe Overway made a jumper from Trevor Ballord and never looked back. Aquinas kept the momentum going as they went on a 10-3 run sparked by a layup by Deric Murray and ended with a layup from Menalito McGee with 9:53 left in the half. Siena fought back as they cut the deficit to eight points (35-27) as Rice drained a three-pointer from Bryce Armstrong (Jr. | Ecorse, Mich.) to send the game into intermission.
Aquinas maintained the same energy as the first half going on a 12-0 run that started with a three-pointer good by Sammie Ryans from Justin Lary and ended with another Sammie Ryans three-pointer assisted by Jesse Hillis. SHU pushed with a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 47-34 as Rice made a free throw with 15:24 left of play. Aquinas gained some cushion with a 9-0 run after Deric Murray scored a layup. Aquinas earned the largest lead of the game of 22 points (64-42) as a layup from Malik Jones was good. Siena cut the deficit 72-62 as Armstrong drained a three-point shot from Jacob Delmotte (Fr. | Deerfield, Mich.) to end the game.
TOP SAINTS
• Rice went 12-22 from the floor, 1-2 from beyond the arc, and 4-5 from the charity stripe.
• Armstrong tallied seven points, one rebound, and a team-high of four assists. He went 3-9 from the floor and 1-5 on three-point attempts.
• Jace Norton (So. | Portland, Oregon) recorded six points, two rebounds, and two steals. He went 2-5 from the floor and 2-5 from beyond the arc.
THE OPPOSITION
• Hillis led Aquinas with a team-high of 14 points, a team-high of eight assists, two rebounds, and three steals. he went 5-7 from the floor, 2-3 on three-point attempts, and 2-3 from the charity stripe.
• Lary and Ballard respectively tallied nine points. Ballard had a team-high of four steals.
• Ryans and Overway respectively earned eight points. Overway had a team-high of 10 rebounds.
UP NEXT
Siena returns home to host Rochester for a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) contest on Saturday, February 13th at 2:00 PM.