Box Score
Lourdes jumped out to a double figure lead less than eight minutes into the contest on Thursday evening and maintained the advantage the rest of the way, defeating Concordia (Mich.) 65-55 at Tam-o-Shanter in the quarterfinals of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament.
 
“This was a good win for us in a win or go home situation,” head coach Andre Smith said following the victory.  “Playoff basketball is a little different and I thought we had good mental focus tonight.”
 
The Gray Wolves jumped on top of the Cardinals quickly, utilizing an 18-4 run over seven-and-a-half minutes to open up a 20-7 lead with nine minutes remaining before intermission.  Lourdes made seven of its first nine shots from the floor, including four straight three-pointers.
 
Lourdes maintained the advantage heading into halftime with a 30-15 lead, holding the Cardinals to just 18.2% shooting from the floor in the opening half.  Corey Harvey (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson H.S.) hit three triples in the opening stanza accounting for all nine of his points at the break.
 
“We got off to a good start which was key for us,” Smith added.  “We came out with a lot of energy.  In the first half I thought we did a real nice job of containing their shooters as well.”
 
The lead grew to as many as 17 points in the second half after Dorel Sutherland (Toronto, Ont./Ascension H.S.) scored inside with 17:28 to play and the Gray Wolves maintained an 11-17 point advantage most of the second half.  Concordia made a run late, scoring six straight points to close within eight, 54-46, but with just 1:07 remaining.  Lourdes made nine of 10 free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
 
Harvey led all scorers with 19 points while pulling down a game-high eight rebounds for the Gray Wolves while Sutherland added 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting, with 10 of the points coming in the second half.  Elvin Butler (Akron, Ohio/East H.S.) added 11 points while Alex Davis (Cleveland, Ohio/Nordonia H.S.) added 10 points as four Gray Wolves tallied double figures.
 
Lourdes shot 46.8% from the field for the game and outscored the Cardinals 30-16 in the paint.
 
Chatavius Turner led sixth-seeded Concordia (14-17) with 16 points off of the bench while Josh Fugate tallied 10 points.
 
“We have a tough task ahead of us on Saturday with a chance to get to the championship,” Smith concluded.  “We have to play one of the top shooting teams in the league on their home floor.  Tempo will be key.”
 
Lourdes (22-8), the tournament's third seed, advances to Saturday's semifinals where the Gray Wolves will face second-seeded, and 15^th-ranked Madonna.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at the Activities Center in Livonia, Mich.