Cold shooting from long range and a large halftime deficit proved to be too much for Lourdes to overcome on Wednesday evening, as the Gray Wolves dropped their final road contest of the season 78-66 against Northwestern Ohio at Racer Gymnasium in Lima, Ohio.
 
The Gray Wolves made just 1-of-14 (7.1%) three-pointer in the contest and were outrebounded by the Racers 40-22 on the evening.
 
An 11-2 run in less than five minutes allowed the hosts to build a 12 points lead, 21-9, with 11:17 to play in the first half, and the Gray Wolves would find themselves behind by double figures until the final few minutes of the contest.  Northwestern Ohio shot 53.1% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, and continued to slowly extend its advantage before taking a 44-23 lead into halftime.
 
After trailing by as many as 23 early in the second stanza, Lourdes scored nine straight points to pull within 15, 48-33, with 16:44 to play.  The deficit would remain between 12 and 18 most of the second half before seven unanswered points allowed the Gray Wolves to climb to within eight, 67-59, with 3:48 remaining.
 
Northwestern Ohio would not allow the Gray Wolves to get any closer down the stretch though, as the Racers made all six of their free throws in the final two minutes.  Northwestern Ohio made 14-of-16 (87.5%) of its attempts from the charity stripe on the night.
 
Zach Steinmetz (Toledo, Ohio/Saint John's H.S.) led Lourdes with 20 points, making 11-of-14 from the free throw line.  He scored 15 of his points after halftime.  E.J. Blackwell (Rochester, Pa./Rochester H.S.) added 18 points, 16 of which came in the final 20 minutes, while Darrionate Stewart (Cleveland, Ohio/Rhodes H.S.) added 12 points off of the bench on 6-of-10 shooting.  Julian Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/Horizon H.S.) added 10 points for the Gray Wolves while KyJuan Grace (Grove City, Ohio/Westland H.s.) handed out five assists. 
 
Lourdes finished the game shooting 45.1% from the floor overall and committed just eight turnovers.
 
Lawrence Jackson led Northwestern Ohio (10-19, 7-14 WHAC) with 29 points, making six three-pointers, while Davon Payne added 14 points.  The Racers shot 47.4% from the floor, making 10 triples, and had just nine miscues.
 
Lourdes (7-21, 5-16) will close out its 2015-2016 season on Saturday evening as the Gray Wolves host Siena Heights.  Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at the Student Health and Activities Center on the campus of Owens Community College.