Men's Basketball Makes Clutch Plays Down the Stretch to Beat Blue Devils

(Southfield, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar men's basketball team played in an instant classic Saturday afternoon, as they ultimately earned a hard-fought road 78-73 victory over the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils.

Zane Kemp would get things going from the opening tip with a layup to give the Cougars a lead on the game's first possession.  Lawrence Tech would answer, and the back and forth would begin.  Trailing 9-8 five minutes into the game, Nick Ellis hit a three to give the Cougars an 11-9 lead, but that lead would be short lived, as LTU took the lead back moments later.  With Cleary leading 13-12, Chaz Cobbs Jr. would make a layup, draw a foul, and convert the and-one opportunity, giving Cleary a 16-12 lead, their largest of the first half.  The Blue Devils would respond, scoring the game's next seven points, before Cobbs. Jr. would stop the bleeding at the free throw line.  LTU would take some control of the game, building as much as a four point lead at multiple points, but the Cougars would finish the half strong.  Isaiah Bailey would make a layup with 3:13 left in the half, cutting the deficit to two points, and after a defensive stop, Zane Kemp scored to tie the game at 28-28.  Late in the half, Chaz Cobbs. Jr. would score, giving Cleary a 30-28 lead.  Another defensive stop would allow Isaiah Bailey to make a jumper on the Cougars' final possession, and the Cougars would head into the break with a 32-28 lead, having scored the final eight points of the half.

LTU would quickly come out to tie the game within the first two minutes of second half action.  Once again, the two teams would trade leads, as both tried to establish themselves over the other.  Through the first ten minutes of the second half, the largest lead either team had would be three points.  That changed at the midway point of the half, when Tim Kewley stole the ball, and made a layup to give Cleary a 51-48 lead.  Kewley would extend the lead to five points after a missed free throw led to an offensive rebound, and he was able to make a layup to give Cleary a 53-48 lead.  With the Cougars leading by four points, Isaiah Bailey would make a layup with 7:00 to play to give Cleary a 59-53 lead, their largest lead of the game.  The Blue Devils would cut that lead to one point within a minute of action.  With Cleary still leading by one with under five minutes to play, LTU would hit a three to take a two point lead.  Nick Ellis would give Cleary the lead right back when he connected from behind the arc.  Lawrence Tech would answer after a timeout with another made three pointer, setting up a dramatic final moments.  The Blue Devils would tie the game at 69-69 with 2:11 left, and then fouled Zane Kemp, sending him to the free throw line.  Kemp would make both free throws to give Cleary a two point lead.  The Blue Devils would once again tie the game after making a layup.  On the other end, Chaz Cobbs Jr. would make a contested layup of his own to give the Cougars a 73-71 lead.  The Blue Devils would once again respond with a basket, tying the game at 73-73 with 1:13 to play in the game.  Cleary used a timeout, drew up a play, got the shot they wanted from Jacob Mueller, but his effort was off the mark.  Fortunately, Nick Ellis was there to clean it up, grabbing the rebound, making a layup, and drawing a foul for an and-one, which he converted, to make the score 76-73.  Cleary would get a steal on their next defensive possession from Tim Kewley, who made one of his two free throws, and making it a two-possession game with under :30 seconds left.  Cleary would earn another defensive stop, which resulted in a Nick Ellis rebound.  LTU would foul again, sending Ellis to the line, where he made one of his two attempts, and essentially finishing off the game.

The game featured 20 lead changes and 12 ties.

Chaz Cobbs Jr. had a team high 16 points and 4 rebounds off the bench.  Nick Ellis added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.  Zane Kemp had 13 points and 4 rebounds, while Bennie Crenshaw Jr. had 11 points and 3 rebounds.  Eight different Cougars scored in the game.

The win improves Cleary's record to 6-9 overall, 5-5 in the WHAC.  The Cougars will next be in action on Wednesday, January 14, when they host the Defiance College Yellow Jackets at Gannon Gymnasium.  The game is set to begin at 7:30 PM.