Men's Basketball Hangs On for 76-72 Win Over Aquinas

(Lansing, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar men's basketball team build a first half double-digit lead and held on after a second half surge, as they defeated the Aquinas College Saints 76-72 Saturday afternoon in Lansing.

Aquinas would score on their first possession of the game, and it would be their only lead of the game.  Chris Williams would hit a three on Cleary's first possession to answer, and after a Tyree Jones three pointer, and a Bennie Crenshaw Jr. jumper, Cleary would lead 8-2 in the opening minutes.  Aquinas and Cleary would trade baskets for the next six minutes before Cleary started to pull away from the Saints.  Jaylen Cole-Williams would hit a jumper, and Bennie Crenshaw Jr. hit a jumper on back to back possessions to give the Cougars a double-digit lead.  Tim Kewley and AJ Hess would score on back to back possessions to keep the Cougars ahead by double-digits, and a Levi McKenzie jumper in transition gave Cleary their largest lead of the first half at 27-14.  Aquinas would go on a 10-1 run, cutting Cleary's lead to 28-24 with just over five minutes to play in the first half.  Cole-Williams would convert both free throws, followed by a Chris Williams jumper and an emphatic Tim Kewley dunk, gave Cleary a 34-24 lead.  Nick Moore would hit a three the next time down the floor, making the score 37-24.  Aquinas finished the half strong, and cut the lead to 42-32 at the half.

Cleary would get a jumper from Bennie Crenshaw Jr. to open the second half, but Aquinas would score five straight points to cut the lead to seven.  A Tyree Jones three made the Cougar lead ten points once again, and Chris Williams free throw would give the Cougars a 59-43 lead, the largest lead of the game with 12:06 to play in the game.  Two minutes later, the Cougar lead would be back in single-digits.  A pair of AJ Hess free throws would give the Cougars a reprieve, as their lead would be 63-53, and Nick Moore scored a transition layup to make it 65-53 with 7:55 to play.  Aquinas would figure out how to take the momentum from the Cougars, and built their way back into the game, as the Saints went on a 14-2 run to tie the game a 67-67 with 3:00 remaining in the contest.  Jaylen Cole-Williams knocked down the biggest three of the game on the next possession, and after getting a stop, Tyree Jones scored an and-one layup to give Cleary a 73-67 lead.  Aquinas was forced to foul down the stretch, and Cleary made enough free throws to hang on for the 76-72 win.

Jacob Mueller and Tyree Jones both led CU with 14 points apiece.  Mueller had 7 rebounds to Jones' 5.  Chris Williams would ave a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Tim Kewley chipped in 10 points and 4 rebounds off the bench.

The win was Cleary's fourth of the season, surpassing last season's total of three, with ten games remaining.  The win now gives Cleary a 4-12 record, 3-7 within the WHAC.  The Cougars will play six of their next seven games on the road, starting with a road trip to take on the Siena Heights University Saints on Wednesday, January 22.  The game is set to tip at 7:30 PM.