Late Run By Men's Basketball Helps Secure Road Victory Over Wolverines

(Dearborn, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar men's basketball team built up a double-digit first half lead, lost the lead in the second half, but finished the game on a 18-3 run to earn a 76-62 victory over the UM-Dearborn Wolverines Wednesday evening.

UM-Dearborn would open the game by scoring five unanswered points before Isaiah Bailey made a pair of free throws.  After a defensive stop, Jacob Mueller hit a tough jumper from the right elbow, and the Cougars were back in the game.  The teams would trade baskets, and would be tied 9-9 at the first media timeout.  The back and forth would continue until the Cougars would finish the half on a run, beginning when Nick Ellis made both of a pair of free throws with 7:20 to play in the half.  Jacob Mueller would connect on a layup, followed by a Bennie Crenshaw Jr. layup.  Two more free throws by Jacob Mueller made it a 26-19 Cougar lead.  Late in the half, Bennie Crenshaw Jr. hit another layup, followed by a pair of Brian Everhart free throws to give the Cougars a double-digit first half lead with 2:08 to go.  Following a defensive stop, Trevor Viau connected from downtown to make it 39-26 in favor of the visitors.  UM-Dearborn would finish the half strong, cutting the Cougar lead to ten, and the two teams went into the half with the score 41-31.

After trading baskets to start the second half, Brian Everhart hit a three to give the Cougars a thirteen point lead.  The Wolverines would begin to chip away at the Cleary advantage, and with 12:43 to play in the game, the Wolverines were within ten points.  Two minutes later, UM-Dearborn had cut the Cleary lead to 52-48, and forced a timeout.  After the timeout, Nick Ellis hit a three from the corner to give the Cougars some cushion, but the Wolverine run would continue, and with 7:16 to play, the game would be tied 57-57.  Jacob Mueller would make one of two free throws, allowing the Wolverines to take the lead for the first time since they led 19-18 in the first half.  Isaiah Bailey would score off a tip-in to give the Cougars a temporary lead.  UM-Dearborn would tie the game at 60-60, and the Cougars would continue to finish the game on fire.  Nick Ellis would convert an and-on opportunity to give Cleary a four-point lead.  A Cougar defensive stop led to Isaiah Bailey being fouled while going for a rebound, and he would convert both from the charity stripe.  The run continued when Brian Everhart hit a three, making the score 69-60 with 2:41 to play.  The defense continued to get stops, and the offense kept converting on the other end, as Jacob Mueller scored inside the paint, and giving Cleary a double-digit lead once again.  This was followed by free throws to see out the game, as the game would end with a score of 76-62.

Bennie Crenshaw Jr. was tied for a game high with 20 points and 4 rebounds.  Nick Ellis would have 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, while Jacob Mueller also had 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks.  

The win improves Cleary's record to 2-6 overall, 2-2 in the WHAC.  The Cougars will return to Gannon Gymnasium on Saturday, December 6, when they host the Golden Eagles of Cornerstone University.  The game is scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM.