The Gray Wolf men's basketball team suffered a 93-78 setback on the road at Siena Heights inside the SHU Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening.
 
"Until we start playing with intensity and commitment on the defensive end of the court, we will continue to struggle," head coach Josh Gibson stated following the contest. "This conference is too good for the lack of focus we are bringing on the defensive end. I need to do a better job of getting us to compete at a high level night in and night out."
 
The contest proved to be a back-and-forth battle from the beginning, as the teams exchanged multiple baskets and played to a 14-all tie with 14:46 left in the first half.
 
From there, Siena Heights (7-4, 5-1 WHAC) would go on a 17-3 run to take a commanding 31-17 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half. A pair of free throws from Deuce Martin (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview) would give Lourdes energy as it cut the Saints lead to 35-32 following a three ball from Brett Lauf (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon) with 5:57 left in the first half.
 
Siena Heights would score the final three points of the half as it carried a 44-38 lead into the half.
 
The Saints slowly took control of the second half, seeing their lead blossom to as many as 88-59 with 5:30 remaining in the contest.
 
From there Kadeim Jones (Dayton, Ohio/Marshall) gave Lourdes life, scoring 14 points of a 19-0 Gray Wolf run to cut the Siena Heights lead to 88-78 with one minute remaining in the contest. A pair of free throws and a late three-pointer from SHU proved to seal the 93-78 victory.
 
Jones led the scoring attack as he tied a career-high with 28 points. Lauf added 23 for the Gray Wolves and Mcray White (Cleveland, Ohio/Garfield Heights) chipped in 10.
 
Keith Jordan Jr. led five Saints in double figures with 20 points.
 
Lourdes finished 25-of-58 (43.1%) from the field, including 7-of-25 (28.0%) from downtown, while the hosts were 39-of-68 (57.4%) from the floor and 6-of-19 (31.6%) from three-point range.
 
The Gray Wolves (6-6, 0-5) will return to action on Saturday afternoon as it welcomes Aquinas to the Ebeid Recreation Center for a 3 p.m. tipoff.