Box Score

Lourdes was within two points of 24^th-ranked Madonna with nine minutes to play on Wednesday night, but the Crusaders went on an 8-0 run to break the game open and defeat the Gray Wolves 58-48 at Tam-o-Shanter.
 
“Madonna is a good team,” head coach Andre Smith stated after the contest.  “We played hard enough to stay in the game, but I don't feel we played smart enough to win.  Mental mistakes, missed layups, and going just 6-of-12 at the free throw line killed us.”
 
Trailing 6-0 early in the contest, the Gray Wolves scored seven unanswered points to take the lead five minutes into the game.  Another 8-0 spurt by Lourdes, keyed by five points from Corey Harvey (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson H.S.), put the hosts on top 19-11 with 7:14 to play before halftime.
 
The Gray Wolves would go cold from the floor though, and Madonna answered with 14 straight points to retake the lead in the final two minutes of the half, holding a 23-22 advantage at the break.
 
“I thought we got stagnant offensively late in the half and tried to live by the jump shot,” Smith added.  “We got away from our game plan which allowed us to build the early lead.”
 
Madonna shot just 26.1% from the floor in the opening half, but went 7-of-9 from the charity stripe and held Lourdes to 1-of-8 shooting from long range to hold the one-point lead.
 
Lourdes retook the lead, 27-25, early in the second half on a triple from Harvey and a lay-in from Alex Davis (Cleveland, Ohio/Nordonia H.S.) at the 17:28 mark.  An 8-0 response from the Crusaders gave Madonna a six-point lead with 13 minutes to play though, an advantage they would not relinquish the rest of the way.
 
The Gray Wolves would close within two, 33-31, at the 11:29 mark, and again at 37-35 with 9:03 to play, but could not find the tying basket.  An 8-0 run by Madonna pushed the lead to 10, 45-35, with 6:23 remaining and the Gray Wolves could not get closer than six the rest of the way.
 
Harvey led Lourdes with 11 points off of the bench while Elvin Butler (Akron, Ohio/East H.S.) added nine points.  Davis chipped in seven points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Bobby Naubert led Madonna (6-2, 3-0 WHAC) with 17 points, going 11-of-12 from the free throw line, while Fred Williams and Travis Schuba added 15 points each.  As a team the Crusaders shot 24-of-28 (85.7%) from the charity stripe.
 
Lourdes (5-2, 2-1) had its five-game winning streak, the second longest in program history, snapped with the loss.  The Gray Wolves will play their second straight ranked opponent on Saturday, traveling to Grand Rapids, Mich. to battle #9 Davenport.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.