Seeds Hold in Men's Basketball Tournament
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - (TOURNAMENT PAGE) - The top four seeds in the 2023 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Men's Basketball Tournament held true with all four advancing to the semifinals.
Second-seeded and defending tournament champion Lourdes got the night's first win with a 107-66 victory against No. 7 Concordia. It's the fifth-highest score by a team in the tournament's history (Cornerstone holds the record with 121 in 2001). Third-seeded Madonna parlayed a six-point halftime lead into an 89-63 win over No. 6 Lawrence Tech. Fourth-seeded Rochester got a 76-66 victory to eliminate No. 5 Cornerstone. It's just the fourth time since 1994 the Golden Eagles have not reached the semifinals. Top-seeded Indiana Tech closed out the night with a 95-80 win over No. 8 Aquinas.
Indiana Tech will now host Rochester at 3 p.m. in the first semifinal while Lourdes welcomes Madonna at 3 p.m. in the second semifinal.
#1 Indiana Tech (26-3) def. #8 Aquinas (12-16), 95-80
Indiana Tech scored the first seven points on a Grant Smith 3-pointer, a Rog Stein layup, and another jumpber by Smith. With 13:11 in the first half, the Warriors' lead expanded to 15 points at 27-12. The Saints battled back with a 16-4 run halfway through the first half as Menalito McGee and Gabe Overway each made a three. The Warriors closed out the half with a 5-0 run for a 44-35 lead at the break. Aquinas opened the second-half scoring with a layup by Donovan Brown-Boyd, but Blake Davidson's answer for Indiana Tech set the tone for the rest of the game. The build a large lead before pulling the starters. Aquinas finishes at 12-16 for the year while the Warriors improve to 26-3 and will host a semifinal game.
Stat Leaders
Points: Gabe Overway (AQ) 29; Grant Smith (IT) 19
Rebounds: Lucas Lehrman (IT) 8; Donovan Brown-Boyd (AQ) 7
Assists: Menalito McGee, Devon Boyd (AQ); several (IT) 3
#4 Rochester (20-9) def. #5 Cornerstone (18-11), 76-66
Cornerstone got the early lead thanks to a 14-6 run helped by five straight points from Carter Nyp. Rochester responded with a 13-3 run to tie it at 19 and held a slim 34-33 lead at the half. RU's James Ballard, Jr. hit a three top open the second half before Cornerstone battled to a 40-39 advantage. The Warriors found a few buckets and held a seven-point lead with a little more than six minutes remaining. Cornerstone cut the lead by two a couple of times, but back-to-back three-points from Gunner Walters gave the Warriors a 10-point lead at 65-55 with just under four minutes that held for the win. Cornerstone ends the season at 18-11 and misses the semifinals for only the fourth time since 1994. Rochester improves to 20-9.
Stat Leaders
Points: James Ballard, Jr. (RU) 18; Eli Steffen (CU) 18
Rebounds: James Ballard, Jr. (RU) 10Cory Ainsworth (CU) 9
Assists: Gunner Walters (RU) 10; Eli Steffen (CU) 4
#3 Madonna (22-7) def. #6 Lawrence Tech (13-16), 89-63
Madonna held a six-point lead at the half as Mark Mettie scored 10 of his game-high 22 points. Mettie opened up the second half scoring that started a 16-2 run to lead 60-40. Andrew Rinn and Gunnar Gustafson stopped the bleeding for LTU and the Blue Devils cut the lead to 16, but could not get any closer as Mettie scored 8 points during the next four minutes to keep Madonna enjoying a double-digit lead. Lawrence Tech ends the season with a 13-16 overall record. Madonna improves to 22-7 and its fifth straight trip to the semifinals.
Stat Leaders
Points: Mark Mettie (MU) 22; Andrew Rinn (LTU) 18
Rebounds: Mark Mettie, Brendan Young (MU) 7; Gunnar Gustafson, Nathaniel Ward (LTU) 7
Assists: Mark Mettie (MU) 5; Andrew Rinn, Gunnar Gustafson (LTU) 4
#2 Lourdes (22-7) def. #7 Concordia (9-20), 107-66
Lourdes made 10 of its first 12 shots to build a 25-13 lead midway through the first half. Concordia cut the lead to five sparked by a three-pointer from Kip French, but the Gray Wolves responsed with a 25-4 run thanks to four triples by Jackie Harris for a 55-33 lead at the half. Colton Ritsema put back-to-back buckets together for the Cardinals to open the second half, but Lourdes pushed the lead to 30 midway through the final period and led by as many as 43. Concordia ends its season at 9-20 while Lourdes improves to 22-7 and advances to the semifinals.
Stat Leaders
Points: Jackie Harris (LU) 33; Zac Clark (CUAA) 14
Rebounds: Jackie Harris (LU) 8; Zac Clark (CUAA) 4
Assists: Joey Holifield (LU) 7; Kip French (CUAA) 5