Madonna, Cornerstone, Lourdes and Lawrence Tech advance to MBB Semifinals

 Three of four higher seeds won on their home floors on Thursday evening in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) quarterfinal action. #1 Madonna defeated Siena Heights 72-60, #2 Cornerstone downed Aquinas 97-72 and #3 Lourdes handled #6 Rochester84-64. The lone upset came in Indiana as the #5 Lawrence Tech Blue Devils used a go-ahead three with 1.9 left on the clock to outlast #4 Indiana Tech in a game that featured 16 lead changes. Madonna will host Lawrence Tech at 4 p.m. and Cornerstone will host Lourdes at 3 p.m. on Saturday. 

#1 Madonna def. #8 Siena Heights 72-60 Box Score

Top-seeded Madonna played host to #8 Siena Heights and used a big second half to come from behind and secure their spot as the host for a semi-final matchup. The Saints came out firing, shooting 50% from both the field and range in the first half to take a 39-30 lead into the break. Shawn Brown scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half to propel SHU. Not to be deterred, the WHAC regular season champion Cusaders flipped the script in the second half, shooting just under 50% from the field and holding Siena Heights to 36% from the field and 11.1% (1-of-9) from three in the second half to win the half 42-21 and the game 72-60.

Madonna had three starers score in double figures, led by Isaac Anderson and his 19 points. Matthew MacLellan scored 15 and Brendan Young was a rebound away from a double-double with 13 points and nine board. For Siena Heights, Shawn Brown led all scorers with 23 points followed by Delano Williams with 14 and Colin Nutter with 10. 

#2 Cornerstone def. #7 Aquinas 97-72 Box Score

 Cornerstone hosted cross-town rival Aquinas on Thursday evening and used a stellar offensive performance to handily defeat the Saints and advance to the semifinals for a meeting with #3 Lourdes. The Golden Eagles shot 63.5% from the field for the contest and had five players score in double figures to pick up the lopsided victory. Cory Ainsworth led all scorers with 20 points followed by Luke Rowlinson with 17 and Jack Joldersma with 14. Eli Steffen scored 12 and Mason Brooks came off the bench to add 11. For Aquinas, Jared Lary led the way with 19 points followed by Donovan Brown-Boyd with 17 and Devon Boyd with 12. Cornestone won the boards 29-20.

#3 Lourdes def. #6 Rochester 84-64 Box Score

Lourdes hosted Rochester on Thursday evening and used solid defense and an efficient offensive effort to win both halves and punch their ticket to the semifinal round. Loures outrebounded Rochester 45-31 and shot 47.3% from the field versus 39% for Rochester. The Gray Wolves saw three scorers eclipse double figures, led by Shaunn Monroe with his game-high 25. Jackie Harris added 22, including six made threes, while Joey Holifield contributed a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards. Rochester's attack was balanced with four scorers in double figures including James Fisher (13), Brandon Michrina (12), Gunner Walters (11) and Brett White (10).

#5 Lawrence Tech def. #4 Indiana Tech 66-65 Box Score

A true back-and-forth affair, #5 Lawrence Tech used a late three pointer to take the lead and ultimately win the game in the lone upset of the quarterfinal round. It was a game that got a late start due to Lawrence Tech transportation issues, but it did not disappoint as the lead changed hands 16 times with no team leading by more than six points all evening. With the game tied with 17 seconds left, Indiana Tech used an offensive rebound and a put-back from Lucas Lyyski to take a 65-53 advantage. Lawrence Tech had some magic left as a contested corner three from Cameron McEvans found the bottom of the net to put the Blue Devils on top 66-65 with 1.9 second remaining. A last second heave from the Warriors was for naught as Lawrence Tech punched its ticket to the semifinals and a matchup with #1 Madonna in Livonia on Saturday. LTU had four scorers in double figures: Cameron McEvans (14), Alejandro Gonzalez (14), Aaron Dolny (12) and Nathaniel Ward (10). Indiana Tech was led by Lyyski with 15, followed by Steve Helm with 12 and Crew Gibson with 10.