Top Seeds advance to WHAC MBB Tournament Finals

For the first time since 2021, the #1 and #2 seeds are set to square off in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) tournament championship game. Madonna punched its ticket with an 84-78 win over #5 Lawrence Tech while #2 Cornerstone won a battle against #3 Lourdes, 74-71. Madonna will host the championship game on Tuesday evening in the Alliance Catholic Credit Union Arena on campus. Tipoff is time is TBD. This is the third-consecutive trip to the WHAC Tournament finals for Madonna while Cornerstone will play in the finals for the first time since 2020. 

#1 Madonna def. #5 Lawrence Tech 84-78

Madonna welcomed Lawrence Tech to town for the mid-afternoon tipoff and it was a thriller from start to finish. The score changed hands 11 different times and was tied on seven different occasions along the way. Madonna led by as many as nine points in the first half but no team led by more than that in the entirety of the second frame. First-Team All-WHAC performer Brendan Young from Madonna led all scorers with 28 points along with 10 rebounds for the double-double. Fellow first team member Isaac Anderson added 16 and Second-Teamer Matthew MacLellan poured in 15 points to round out the Crusaders' leading scorers. WHAC Player of the Year, Brandon Beaver, led the way for the Blue Devils with 22 points along with eight rebounds and three assists. Alejandro Gonzalez added 12 and Aaron Dolny scored 10. Blake Lund and Cameron McEvans scored 14 and 12 off the bench respectively. 

#2 Cornerstone def. #3 Lourdes 74-71

Cornerstone used a big first half to take a nine-point lead into the break and Lourdes nearly clawed back in the second half to pull off the upset. Ultimately, the host Cornerstone Golden Eagles would hang on to earn the 74-41 victory and punch their ticket to the WHAC finals. Cornerstone will also earn the WHAC's second autobid to the NAIA National Championships as a result of Madonna already earning the first as the regular season champion. 

In the first half, Cornerstone used back-to-back threes with 4:30 to go to take the lead. They used a pair of Luke Rowlinson three balls late to head into the half up 47-36. Lourdes came firing back in the second half, using a 12-0 run to take a 55-52 lead early on. Lourdes managed to tie the game with just under three minutes remaining but a Rowlinson jumper with 1:30 left gave the Golden Eagles a 73-71 lead. Cornerstone hit a free throw with seven seconds left. Lourdes had a chance to tie it on a last minute heave but the shot was off the mark and the game ended 74-71. 

First-Team All-WHAC member Cory Ainsworth led Cornerstone with 19 points along with six rebounds and three blocks. Mason Brooks added 15 off the bench and Luke Rowlinson scored 13. WHAC Newcomer of the Year Shaunn Monroe led all scorers with 22 points along with six assists. First Team member Joey Holifield scored 20 with six boards to round out the double-digit scorers for Lourdes.