SHU Men's Hoops Unable to Knock Off Defending NAIA Champ Cornerstone

ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights men's basketball team fell victim to an late second-half run by defending national champ Cornerstone and dropped a 92-73 decision in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play at the SHU Fieldhouse on Wednesday.

Nick Kosovich (Shelby Township, Mich./Romeo) led the Saints with 18 points and six rebounds while Vince Schantz (Wyandotte, Mich./Allen Park Cabrini) and Cecil Clark (Ferndale, Mich./Ferndale) contributed 16 and 14 points, respectively. Nick Packwood (Southgate, Mich./Inter-City Baptist) hauled down six rebounds.

Siena Heights trailed, 37-20, late in the first half before chipping away at its large deficit. Getting four points from Eric Cogan (Petersburg, Mich./Summerfield), SHU enjoyed a 9-2 stretch -- eventually shrinking the gap to 43-33 at intermission.

The Saints (5-13, 2-5) closed in on Cornerstone in the second half, scoring 10 consecutive points to go up, 50-49, with 12:14 to go. Chris Lemm (Clinton Township, Mich./Chippewa Valley) had four points during the charge and Dan Pollock (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) put the hosts ahead with a pair of free throws.

With the score at 59-all, the Eagles took command with a 24-4 run to give themselves an 83-63 advantage with 3:11 remaining. Wes Hudson, who finished 16 points, had 11 during the decisive streak.

Justin Yoder led Cornerstone with 25 points while Dan Possehl contributed 13 and Ronald Bates put in 10. Jake Plite was the team's leading rebounder with six boards.

The Golden Eagles scored 31 points off of 23 SHU turnovers while the Saints managed only eight points from 10 Cornerstone giveaways.

Siena Heights will play its next game on Saturday when it hosts Indiana Tech for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.