Men's Basketball Tournament Sees No. 1-4 Seeds Advance
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - (TOURNAMENT PAGE) - The opening round of the 2022 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Men's Basketball escape upsets as the four top seeds posted victories. Top-seeded Indiana Tech posted an 85-52 victory against No. 8-seeded UNOH to get the tournament started. Fourth-seeded Lourdes cruised to a 79-59 win over No. 5-seeded Rochester and third-seeded Madonna won 79-63 against No. 6-seeded Aquinas. The final spot in the semifinals came down to the last game of the evening as second-seeded Cornerstone needed a buzzer-beating block in overtime to dispatch No.7-seeded Lawrence Tech 77-75.
Semifinals are set for February 26 with Lourdes traveling to Indiana Tech and Cornerstone hosting Madonna for 3 p.m. start times.
#1 Indiana Tech (18-2, 25-6) def. #8 UNOH (8-12, 11-19), 85-52
Indiana Tech went on a 17-6 run at the start of the second half to stretch a 13-point halftime lead into as many as 24 points. UNOH hit a couple of buckets to stop the streak before the Warriors pushed the lead to as many as 34 with four minutes to play. Tech scored 42 points in the paint and shot 45% from the field to secure the win.
Stat Leaders
Points: Blake Davidson 21 (IT); Zach Montes 9 (UNOH)
Rebounds: Cory McKinney 8 (IT); Zach Montes 8 (UNOH)
Assists: Cory McKinney, Tyler Canfield 3 (IT); Zach Montes 3 (UNOH)
#4 Lourdes (13-7, 22-7) def. #5 Rochester (12-8, 19-12), 79-59
Lourdes' defense set the tone as the Gray Wolves held Rochester to two points in the opening six minutes and enjoyed a double-digit lead most of the half. Rochester pulled to within eight with just over eight minutes to play before halftime, but the Gray Wolves closed the first half on a 17-4 run for a 23-point advantage. Rochester closed the gap to 13 points midway through the second half, but a 10-1 run by LU put the game out of reach.
Stat Leaders
Points: Andrew Kline 21 (RU); Joey Holifield 16 (LU)
Rebounds: Diego Robinson 10 (RU); McRay White 7 (LU)
Assists: Cannon Campbell 5 (RU); Little Anderson, Nick Welch 4 (LU)
#3 Madonna (13-7, 20-11) def. #6 Aquinas (10-10, 16-14), 79-63
It was a game of spurts as Madonna used an early run in the first half and a couple of runs in the second half for the win. With Aquinas leading by one, the Crusaders went on a 17-2 run in a three-minute time span to take control and push to a 15-point lead. Aquinas whittled the deficit down to nine by the end of the half and were able to get as close as six in the opening minutes of the second half. Five quick buckets put MU back up by double digits at 17. Aquinas again battled back to cut the leat to seven and Madonna again answered with a run for a 16-point advantage to seal the victory.
Stat Leaders
Points: Gabe Overway 24 (AQ); Mark Mettie 23 (MU)
Rebounds: Mark Mettie 15 (MU); Gabe Overway 10 (AQ)
Assists: Mark Mettie 4 (MU); Sammie Ryans 3 (AQ)
#2 Cornerstone (15-5, 22-9) def. #7 Lawrence Tech (9-11, 12-15), 77-75 OT
Lawrence Tech took control early and led 37-33 at the half thanks to Brandon Beavers' 12 points. Cornerstone hung around and after a few back-and-forth buckets, retook the lead at the 14:39 mark for the first time since the 15-minute mark in the first. It didn't last long though as LTU retook the lead and led by as many as seven with 5:55 remaining the game. Cornerstone chipped away until Jack Joldersma slammed home a dunk to tie the score with 56 ticks on the clock. Both teams missed shots to close out regulation and force overtime. CU hit a pair of freethrows for the first points of the extra period and built a six-point lead at the 52-second mark. LTU hit a pair of freethrows and connected on a layup with 21 seconds left to close to within two points. After a Cornerstone turnover gave Lawrence Tech a chance with a shot in the paint at the buzzer, the Golden Eagles got a huge block from Jonny Strube for the win.
Stat Leaders
Points: Christian Rodriguez 29 (CU); Brandon Beavers 27 (LTU)
Rebounds: Jonny Strube, Jack Joldersma 9 (CU); Brandon Beavers, Gunnar Gustafson 7 (LTU)
Assists: Christian Rodriguez 6 (CU); Brandon Beavers 6 (LTU)