Siena Heights men's basketball stumbles against Madonna
The Siena Heights University men's basketball team welcomed the Madonna Crusaders to the SHU Fieldhouse on Breast Cancer Awareness night Saturday and took a 75-57 loss in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference contest.
Jamison Webster (Madison High School) started the scoring for the Saints (7-19, 7-13 WHAC) with a steal and breakaway layup to make it 2-0. The NAIA Division II No. 22-ranked Crusaders (20-8, 15-5) answered with a run to take an 11-6 lead with just under 13 minutes left in first half. Siena Heights responded with a 4-0 run to cut it to 11-10, before the Saints put the Crusaders on the line for two. Siena Heights' Latwan Wesley tied the game at 13 with a 3-pointer.
"When you play the No. 22 team in the country, you have to bring more things to the table," said Saints coach Joe Pechota. "You have to make more shots, more plays on both the offensive and defensive ends. You just have to play better."
Madonna responded to every early Saints rally with one of their own, hitting a 3-pointer to make it 18-13, but Ryan Hopson cut the Crusaders' lead to two, 18-16, thanks to a shooting foul beyond the 3-point arc.
"The first two minutes of the second half we were aggressive," said Pechota. "But they came back and threw a counterpunch, and we had nothing to counter back with."
The team traded 3s for a few possessions. Madonna's Tyler Steward nailed one and then the Saints' Eric Cogan responded with one of his own, before the Crusaders' Travis Schuba nailed it from downtown to make it 24-19.
The Saints' Javon Flowers sparked the crowd with an energetic dunk to make it 24-23 Madonna. Wesley followed a Madonna field goal with a 3 to tie it 26-26. The Crusaders answered with a 7-0 run to end the half and take a 33-26 lead into halftime.
The Saints shot 26.7 percent in the first half, well under the defensive percentage Madonna holds their opponents. Webster led Siena Heights with six points in the first half. The Crusaders shot their season average, 38! percent, beyond the three point arc in the first half and 40.7 percent from the field. Schuba led all scorers in the first half with 15 points, including 3-for-8 from 3-point land.
"They (Madonna) are a high powered offensive team, and it showed tonight," said Pechota. "They competed to their identity, and they are going to outscore teams and tonight they did."
The Saints started the second half with 4-1 run to cut the Crusaders lead to five, but Madonna was able to extend the lead with an 18-2 run to take a 53-32 lead with under 12 minutes left in the game. The Saints were not hitting their shots, and Madonna kept hitting theirs.
The Saints finally started hitting some shots down the stretch, outscoring the Crusaders 18-15 in the last six minutes, but that wasn't enough as Madonna cruised to a win on the road.
Siena Heights shot 30.9 percent (17-for-55) from the field, while the Crusaders shot 42.1 percent (24-for-57).
The Saints' Latwan Wesley led Siena Heights with 16 points. Corey Hungerford had a team-high five rebounds for Siena Heights. Webster added eight points and three assists.
Madonna had three players in double-digits with Schuba leading all scorers with 18 points. Tyler Stewart added 11 points, and Fred Williams chipped in 10 for the Crusaders.
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