Men's Basketball Suffers Home Setback vs. Crusaders

(Lansing, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar men's basketball welcomed WHAC power Madonna to Gannon Gymnasium on Saturday, and came up just short, as the Crusaders handed Cleary a 67-59 defeat.

The game began with both teams struggling to find the bottom of the net, and Trevor Viau would give the Cougars a very early lead with 17:39 to go.  The two teams traded baskets before Madonna connected from behind the arc.  After Madonna extended their lead, Derrick Miller would hit a three of his own to keep the Cougars within two points.  The Crusaders would answer with a mini-run of their own to make it 15-9.  Amare Slaughter would hit on back to back layups to cut into the deficit, with 12:29 to go in the half.  After Bennie Crenshaw Jr. hit both of two free throw attempts with 5:21 to go in the game, Madonna would finish the half on a run to extend their lead to 35-28.  On Cleary's final possession, Chaz Cobbs Jr. would hit a contested fadeaway jumper to make it a 35-30 game heading into the break.

Nick Ellis started the second half with a bang, as he pump faked and drove to the rim before dunking the ball home on Cleary's first possession of the second half.  Bennie Crenshaw Jr. then hit a jumper the next trip down the floor to cut the Crusader lead to 35-34.  Madonna would then go on a 9-2 run, and held a 44-36 lead with 15:12 to play in the game.  Cleary would score five unanswered, with Jacob Mueller scoring, and Isaiah Bailey hitting from behind the arc to make it a 44-41 game.  Madonna responded once again, and built up a nine-point deficit for the Cougars with under ten minutes to play.  Brian Everhart then scored back to back three pointers to make it a one possession game, but the Crusaders stopped the run, and regained their nine-point lead.  After Nick Ellis hit a three with 3:33 to go, Cleary would get a stop and have a chance to make it a one possession game once again.  The Cougars would miss their alley-oop attempt, and the resulting transition opportunity for Madonna resulted in a made three on the other end, and the score was 67-59.  Both teams would go scoreless the final 2:15, and the game would end with the score at 67-59.

Nick Ellis would lead Cleary with 12 points and 5 rebounds.  Isaiah Bailey added 9 points off the bench.  Tim Kewley had 3 more blocks to give him a total of 7 for the week.

The loss drops Cleary's record to 1-5 overall, 1-1 in the WHAC.  The Cougars will next play on the road to Indiana Tech on Tuesday, November 25, with the game scheduled to start at 8:00 PM.