Jan. 3, 2009

Box Score

ADRIAN, Mich. - The men's basketball team once again dropped a close contest on Saturday at the Merillat Center with a 61-58 loss to Mount St. Joseph in the first game of 2009. The Bulldogs trailed 29-22 at halftime after trailing by as many as 14 points in the first half.

The Bulldogs began the second half scoring the first seven points to tie the game at 29-29 with 16:49 remaining. Adrian saw MSJ build another double-digit lead at 47-34 at the 11:54 mark but clawed back into the game. Adrian cut the lead to 51-46 at the 8:25 mark after a pair of Desmond Young free throws. Adrian cut the lead down to 55-53 with 3:07 left after a pair of Dwight VanHoesen free throws. The Bulldogs took a brief lead with 39 seconds left after a Young layin gave AC a 58-57 advantage. Travis Huffman made a driving layin with 21 seconds to go to give the Lions a one-point lead. VanHoesen took a drive to the basket and was blocked by Kyle McCord with three seconds to go. Adrian fouled Chris Cioffi who made both free throws with 1.7 seconds to play and gave MSJ a 61-58 lead. Young had a very good look at the three-pointer on the right wing from about 24 feet but the tying shot hit the front of the rim.

Young led Adrian with 19 points and was 6-of-13 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the line in 35 minutes. Matt Wayne came off the bench and added 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. He also had three boards and two blocks in 26 minutes. Adrian struggled to find the bottom of the net all afternoon shooting 29.6 percent in the first half and 43.3 percent in the second half. AC was 21-of-57 (36.8) from the field but just 2-of-12 (16.7) from behind the arc and 14-of-23 (60.9) at the free throw line. Adrian committed just seven turnovers but the cold shooting really told the story. Mount St. Joseph got a game-high 23 points from Michael Romes. Romes was 10-of-18 from the field and also had eight boards in 30 minutes. Mitchell Goldschmidt added 12 points and connected on 2-of-3 from the arc. The Lions shot 46 percent for the game and 8-of-13 (61.5) from the arc. Adrian (3-7) has lost their last three games by a combined five points heading into MIAA action.