E.J. Blackwell (Rochester, Pa./Rochester H.S.) matched his career-high with 33 points and added 10 rebounds while Zach Steinmetz (Toledo, Ohio/Saint John's H.S.) also had a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 14 boards, but Lourdes was unable to rally from a 19-point second half deficit, and fell to Marygrove 82-79 on Wednesday night at Tam-o-Shanter.
 
Blackwell scored 23 of his 33 points in the second half, helping Lourdes climb all the way back to take a four-point lead, and finished the game 12-of-24 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.  Alonzo Hamilton (Linden, N.J./The Robinson School) also finished the night in double figures for the Gray Wolves, scoring 14 points, one shy of his career best.
 
Marygrove took control of the game in the first half, using a 23-6 run in less than nine minutes to build an 18-point advantage, 37-19, at the 2:43 mark before halftime.  Lourdes answered with 10 of the next 13 points, and was able to pull within 13, 42-29, at the break.
 
"Give all of the credit to Marygrove tonight," head coach Andre Smith said afterwards.  "They played well, played with a great deal of effort, and made plays.  We had no energy, seemed to lack effort, and they handed it to us."
 
The Mustangs shot 51.5% from the floor and committed just one turnover in the first 20 minutes while holding Lourdes to a 26.3% shooting clip.  The Gray Wolves stayed in the game with 16 first half rebounds on the offensive end of the floor, leading to 17 of the team's 29 points in the stanza.
 
Lourdes scored the first six points of the second half to close to within seven, but a 16-4 run in less than four minutes allowed Marygrove to balloon the lead back to 19, 58-39, at the 14:44 mark.  Again Lourdes battled back.  A 27-4 Gray Wolf run over six minutes put the hosts in front, 70-66, with 6:50 to play following a pair of free throws from Julian Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/Horizon H.S.). 
 
The lead bounced back and forth over the next five minutes, and was tied at 74 with 2:03 to play following a jumper by Hamilton.  Four straight points from Marygrove put the guests in front for good, heading into the final minute.  Trailing by three, 78-77, Steinmetz scored inside with 18.8 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one.
 
After Nate Taylor made a pair of free throws with 15.8 seconds to play, Johnson took the ball to the rack and scored with 6.8 ticks left on the clock.  The Gray Wolves forced a turnover on the inbounds passing, setting up a chance to win, but KyJuan Grace's (Grove City, Ohio/Westland H.S.) runner in the lane was blocked by Sirafino Davis, his fifth rejection of the night, and Isaac Gillum iced the game with a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds to play.
 
Lourdes shot 55.9% from the floor in the second half to finish at 40.3% for the night, and outscored the Mustangs 50-32 in the paint.  Marygrove finished the game shooting 44.6% from the floor, but committed just six miscues.
 
Diante Taylor led Marygrove (2-17, 2-9 WHAC) with 25 points while Isaac Gillum added 24 points.  Taylor tallied 15 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists while Elijah Ingram also finished in double figures with 13 points for the Mustangs.
 
Lourdes (8-10, 3-8) will begin the second half of league play on Saturday afternoon as the Gray Wolves welcome 22^nd-ranked Aquinas to Tam-o-Shanter.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.