SHU Men's Hoops Drops Home Contest to Lourdes

ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights men's basketball team suffered a 79-66 loss to Lourdes (Ohio) in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference action on Wednesday at the SHU Fieldhouse.

Nick Kosovich (Shelby Township, Mich./Romeo) led the Saints with 17 points and five assists while Cecil Clark (Ferndale, Mich./Ferndale) and Vince Schantz (Wyandotte, Mich./Allen Park Cabrini) contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively. Chris Lemm (Clinton Township, Mich./Chippewa Valley) grabbed eight rebounds.

The visiting Gray Wolves (13-10, 7-5) scored the game's final 12 points, going 10 of 10 from the free-throw line and 1 of 1 from the field, to pull away.

Kosovich scored 14 points in the first period and Clark put in eight as the Saints took a 41-27 advantage into halftime. SHU closed the half on an 18-6 run.

During the opening half, the Saints shot .571 from the field (16 of 28) and .636 from three-point land (7 of 11).

Lourdes answered back in the second half, scoring the frame's first nine points. John Willhite led the Wolves' charge, putting in nine points, as a 20-6 run pulled the visitors even at 47-47.

The game's final tie was at 59-all before a Kenny Smith bucket put Lourdes up for good.

Siena Heights (6-17, 3-8) trimmed its deficit to one point on three different occasions, but could not find its way to the lead.

Schantz made a basket with 2:08 remaining, closing the gap to 67-66, before the Wolves went on their decisive run.

Willhite led the Lourdes effort with a double-double, finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Corey Harvey added 16 points and eight rebounds while Remy Fleurima and Marcus Outlaw scored 10 points each.

The Saints will play their next game on Saturday when they host No. 3 Davenport in a WHAC matchup. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.