Dec. 1, 2009

Final Stats

ADRIAN, Mich. - The men's basketball team renewed their rivalry with cross-town foe Siena Heights University on Tuesday night and the Saints pulled out a tough defensive battle by the final score of 48-45 at Merillat Gymnasium.

Adrian (2-3) struggled on offense most of the night but dug deep on the defensive end to keep the game close throughout. Siena's biggest lead of the night was eight points in the second half while Adrian's biggest lead was five points in the first two minutes of the game.

Adrian jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held that lead until the 12:08 mark when SHU went ahead 8-6 on a pair of Mark Snipes' free throws. The Saints increased their lead to 17-10 at the 7:32 mark on a three-point play by Cortney Smith. Adrian went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 17-17 at the 3:04 mark on a layup by Dennis Mason. Both teams did not score more than one field goal to end the half and Mason split at the foul line with 1:11 left to give AC a 20-19 lead at the break. Adrian shot 7-of-23 (30.4%) in the first half while Siena Heights was 6-of-24 (25.0%) from the field.

Siena Heights' Brent Reynolds may have been the MVP of the game as he came out shooting in the second half from behind the arc. Reynolds hit a triple seven seconds into the second half to put SHU ahead 22-20 and 31 seconds later nailed another from the left corner to give SHU a 25-20 lead in the first minute of the half. Adrian could not gain a lead for the rest of the game after the quick spurt.

The Saints led 35-27 at the 14:31 mark after a triple by Chris Shiels, but Adrian came back to cut the lead down to 39-37 with 8:08 left after a Joseph Kopicki jumper. The Saints could have put Adrian away in the final five minutes but could not hit their free throws. Snipes in particular had a rough time at the line missing six straight at one point. During crunch time it was Kopicki who cut the lead down to 46-45 with 2:22 left.

Snipes split at the line with 2:06 left to give SHU a 47-45 lead. Wesley Reed missed a triple and Smith grabbed the defensive rebound. The Saints' Logan Mathews was stripped of the ball by Michael Staley with 1:09 to go and Mathews committed a foul which sent Staley to the line for a one-and-one. Staley missed the front end after a timeout and Siena Heights brought the ball downcourt. Reynolds was fouled by Kopicki and missed both free throws in the double bonus. Delano Collins took a tough shot on the Adrian end and Kopicki grabbed the offensive board. Adrian had the shot clock off after using their last timeout and Staley forced up a tough runner which missed the mark and was rebounded by Smith with nine seconds left. Smith missed the first and made the second as SHU called their last timeout. Staley raced upcourt and lost the ball momentarily before regaining control and firing up and off-balance three-pointer which was short and left from the deep left wing as time expired.

Kopicki's nine points led Adrian off the bench. He was 4-of-7 from the field and also grabbed seven rebounds in 18 minutes. Wes Reed added eight points including two triples in seven tries in 14 minutes. The Bulldogs turned it over 17 times compared to 15 turnovers by the Saints. Smith had 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench to lead SHU (7-1).