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Evan Vasquez (Delta, Ohio/Delta H.S.) forced overtime with a basket in the final seconds of regulation, but Lourdes fell one point short in the extra session, dropping a 79-78 decision to Madonna on Wednesday night at the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"For 35 of the 45 minute tonight, we played with the focus and execution needed to win a conference game," head coach Josh Gibson said.  "Madonna is a much better team than their record, evidenced by just how close every game has been for them.  We have to learn that every possession matters, just as much in the middle of the first half as when the game is on the line late in the second half or overtime.  Every guy on the team, myself included, can think of one possession they'd like to have back."
 
Madonna (3-5, 2-3 WHAC) jumped in front early, building a 10-point advantage, 29-19, with 7:41 to play in the first half following a 14-6 run.  The Crusaders' lead grew to as many as 14, 35-21, four minutes later before Lourdes scored 12 of the final 16 points of the half, capped by a three-pointer by Levert Bristol (Dothan, Ala./Northview H.S.) as time expired, to pull the Gray Wolves within six, 39-33, at the break.
 
Lourdes continued to climb back into the contest, cutting the deficit to two, 41-39, less than two minutes out of the locker room.  Madonna again would respond, pushing the advantage back to eight before the Gray Wolves capped a 15-5 run with a triple from Desmond Frazier (Ocala, Fla./Dunnellon H.S.) to put Lourdes in front for the first time since 2-0, 54-52, with nine minutes remaining.
 
Free throws helped the Gray Wolves increase their lead to five, 61-56, with 6:40 to play before an 11-2 Crusader run put Madonna back in front.  Trailing by five with two minutes to play, Frazier knocked down a three to make it a 69-67 game.  Following an offensive rebound in the closing seconds, Vasquez knocked down his shot for force the extra session.
 
Neither team would lead by more than two points in the overtime, and a Frazier triple with 1:35 remaining put Lourdes in front 78-77.  Madonna would split a pair of free throws with 1:10 to play to tie the game, and following a Lourdes miss on the other end, Chris Dierker was fouled with 45 seconds remaining.  He made one of two for the guests but Madonna grabbed an offensive rebound.  The Gray Wolves were able to force a Madonna miss in the closing seconds, but a game-winning three-point attempt as the clock was winding down missed the mark.
 
"In a conference as competitive as the WHAC, there are no do-overs," Gibson added.  "Tonight reinforced that lesson the hard way.  Ultimately, the most important thing is that we stay positive and keep progressing.  As long as we learn from this loss and improve, then long term we will grow from this."
 
Frazier led Lourdes with 27 points, making all eight of his shots inside of the arc along with three triples.  Bristol added 24 points, making 9-of-12 from the floor, and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.  Najeeb Johnson (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights H.S.) added 10 points to give the Gray Wolves three players in double figures.
 
Andrew Myers led Madonna with 17 points, making 7-of-8 from the field coming off of the bench while Khalil Malone added 16 points.  Dierker had a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 11 boards.
 
Lourdes (2-8, 1-3) will take to the road on Saturday to face Marygrove.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at the Northwest Activities Center in Detroit, Mich.