Men's Basketball's Season Ends After WHAC Tournament Defeat

(Rochester Hills, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar men's basketball team fought to the very end, but were unable to keep their season alive, as they fell on the road to the Rochester Christian Warriors 85-76 Thursday evening.

RCU would open the game with a 6-2 early lead, but Bennie Crenshaw Jr., Jacob Mueller, and Zane Kemp would make back to back to back baskets to give the Cougars an 8-6 lead.  The two teams would battle for the next few minutes, and Isaiah Bailey would make a free throw to give Cleary a 13-12 lead with 13:24 to play.  The Warriors would go on a run, building a double-digit lead by the under-ten minute media timeout.  Over the next five minutes, the deficit had grown to twenty points, with Cleary trailing 43-23.  Cleary would get the deficit to eighteen points after an Amare Slaughter layup, and that would be the deficit at the half, with the score 45-27.

Cleary would start the second half strong, as the Cougars were able to work their way back into the game.  Bennie Crenshaw Jr. hit a three, followed by a fadeaway jumper from Jacob Mueller, and a layup from Zane Kemp would get the Cougars to within eleven points.  After RCU scored on their offensive end, Nick Ellis made a layup, and Zane Kemp dunked home an alley-oop to get the Cougars back within single digits, with the score 48-39, forcing a timeout from Rochester Christian.  The Warriors would respond, rebuilding a twenty point advantage with 10:00 to play in the game.  Cleary kept chipping away, and a Nick Ellis three pointer got Cleary within fourteen points with 5:00 to play.  Zane Kemp would make a jumper, followed by two Bennie Crenshaw Jr. free throws, and two Brian Everhart three pointers to keep the Cougars alive.  Forced to foul late, the Warriors would convert their free throws, handing Cleary an exit from the WHAC tournament, and ending their season.

Zane Kemp had a game high 22 points to lead the Cougar offense.  Bennie Crenshaw Jr. would add 12 points and 6 assists, while Brian Everhart also had 12 points on 4 made threes.  Jacob Mueller would score 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, while Nick Ellis had 4 blocks and 10 rebounds.

Cleary ends the season with a 12-16 record overall.