Saints' Men's Hoops Drops Decision at Cornerstone

2/11/2012 5:44:01 PM
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Siena Heights men's basketball team suffered a 90-76 loss at Cornerstone in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play on Saturday.

Cecil Clark (Ferndale, Mich./Ferndale) had 18 points and five rebounds while Nick Packwood (Southgate, Mich./Inter-City Baptist) added 15 points for the Saints.

Also, Eric Cogan (Petersburg, Mich./Summerfield) scored 11 points and Justin Distelrath (Saint Clair, Mich./Cardinal Mooney) grabbed seven rebounds.

The Golden Eagles (17-11, 11-5) were led by Ronald Bates, who scored 30 points.

Both teams went on early runs before Cornerstone took command for good. After giving up the opening basket, the Eagles enjoyed a 15-2 stretch in which Bates put in 11 points. SHU quickly answered, going on a 9-0 run, as four players contributed to close the deficit to 15-13.

Once again, the Eagles pulled away -- this time, going on a 13-2 run -- as Dan Possehl and Ty Mason led the charge with four points apiece. At that point, Cornerstone was up, 32-18.

The Saints (6-22, 3-13) twice closed their deficit to six points, but on both occasions, the hosts widened the gap.

An 8-2 charge, including four points from Cogan, pulled SHU within 45-39 before the Eagles ran off seven straight points.

Clark led SHU's next rally, scoring nine points as the Saints used a 12-4 run to close within 64-48. From there, Cornerstone had the decisive answer -- a 13-3 stretch to gain a 77-61 advantage -- which was led by five points by Bates.

The Golden Eagles iced the game with eight straight points from the free-throw line and claimed their largest lead at 90-66 before the Saints scored the game's final 10 points -- five by Myke Hand (Monroe, Mich./Dundee) and five by Brooks Sutherland (Adrian, Mich./Adrian).

Siena Heights will return to action on Wednesday when it visits WHAC opponent Indiana Tech for a 7:30 p.m. start. The Saints are currently eighth in the conference, holding a one-game lead over Northwestern Ohio in the battle for the final WHAC Tournament spot.