Lourdes shot 63.6% from the floor on Wednesday evening and built a 17-point halftime lead on the way to a 70-51 victory over Concordia (Mich.) at Tam-o-Shanter, snapping a seven game losing skid in the process.
 
"This was a great win for us," head coach Andre Smith said.  "We definitely needed it.  We had lots of energy and played with a great deal of pride tonight.  If you can shoot the ball well you have a chance to win and we did that tonight."
 
The Gray Wolves blistered the nets at a nearly 70% clip in the opening 20 minutes before shooting 55.6% after the break.  Lourdes also made 7-of-13 (53.8%) shot from three-point range.
 
Both teams found the bottom of the basket early, as Lourdes made seven of its first 10 shots and Concordia was 5-for-8 in the game's opening 6:30.  With the Gray Wolves leading 16-14, Lourdes defense forced the Cardinals into eight straight misses while making six of their next nine shots themselves as part of a 14-0 run to push the lead to 16, 30-14, with 6:28 to play before halftime.
 
Concordia closed the gap to nine with 2:07 remaining before halftime, but Zach Steinmetz (Toledo, Ohio/Saint John's H.S.) hit two triples on passes from Julian Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/Horizon H.S.) and Johnson added a basket of his own in an 8-0 run, giving Lourdes a 43-26 halftime advantage.
 
Steinmetz scored 20 points in the first half on 8-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-5 from long range, while Johnson added 13 points on 6-of-7 from the floor and had five assists.
 
A 17-5 run by Lourdes early in the second half pushed the lead to 31, 65-34, with 8:36 to play.  The Gray Wolves would be outscored by the same 17-5 margin the rest of the way, but Lourdes still managed its largest margin of victory since Dec. 8 against Akron Wayne.
 
Steinmetz finished with a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds while Johnson added 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals.  E.J. Blackwell (Rochester, Pa./Rochester H.S.) added 18 points, 11 of which came in the second half.
 
"We got great senior leadership today, both in scoring and other aspects of the game," Smith added.  "When Julian and E.J. are making shots, Zach is a great post player."
 
Tyler Smith led Concordia (11-14, 7-10) with 11 points as the Cardinals shot just 34.6% from the floor.
 
"We did a good job on their shooters and stuck to the game plan defensively," Smith concluded.
 
Lourdes (9-15, 4-13) will host top-ranked Davenport on Saturday afternoon at Tam-o-Shanter.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.