The Lourdes men's basketball team came up short on Saturday afternoon, falling 100-86 to Madonna on Senior Day inside the Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"This was a very high intensity game," said head coach Josh Gibson following the matchup. "Madonna had a lot of the line today and they came in here and played a very intense game. I really thought we did too. I'm proud of how hard we played and our effort. I think this type of atmosphere and game is something similar to what we will see in the tournament so this was good preparation for us. We just need to learn from this and be ready to play Thursday."
 
Lone senior Desmond Frazier (Ocala, Fla./Dunnellon), recognized prior to the contest, took no time getting in the scoring column, hitting the opening shot of the contest to give Lourdes a quick 3-0 lead.
 
Madonna (22-8, 15-5 WHAC) answered with two three-pointers, but Brett Lauf (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon) responded to each shot with a jumper of his own to help Lourdes hold a 7-6 lead less than 90 seconds into the contest.
 
From there, the Crusaders used an 8-0 run to take a 14-7 lead with 16:10 left in the first half. McRay White (Cleveland, Ohio/Garfield Heights) completed an old-fashioned three-point play to cut the lead to 14-10 with 15:53 left in the first half.
 
After Madonna saw its lead grow to as many as eight points in the first half, Lourdes regained the lead at 32-30 following back-to-back three-pointers from Bryce McComb (Swanton, Ohio/Swanton).
 
McComb hit his third three-pointer of the half at the 8:12 mark of the first half off of a Lauf assist to help Lourdes grab its largest lead of the half at 35-30.
 
The Crusaders regained the lead for the remainder of the half at the 5:43 mark, taking a 50-46 advantage into the intermission.
 
After the teams exchanged buckets early on in the second half, the Gray Wolves regained the lead at 55-54 after White hit a short jumper following a Kadeim Jones (Dayton/Marshall) pass.
 
The two teams exchanged buckets over the next few minutes, but a fast break three-pointer from Frazier with 11:14 left in the contest gave Lourdes a 66-64 lead, forcing a Crusader timeout.
 
After Lourdes took a 71-70 lead, Madonna scored eight straight to grab a 78-71 lead. Clif Snow (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown) ended the run for the Crusaders, completing an and-one play to cut the lead to 78-74 with 6:21 left in the matchup.
 
Madonna continued to extend its lead, taking an 88-77 lead following a three-pointer. Caiden Smith (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) found an open Frazier in the corner on the ensuing possession, where Frazier connected from deep to get Lourdes within 88-80.
 
Madonna was able to hold on as it went on the seal the 100-86 victory.
 
Snow led Lourdes offensively with a 19-point effort. Frazier added 17 points, while Jones and Lauf tallied 13 and 11 points, respectively. White added nine points and eight rebounds for Lourdes.
 
Kyle Stergis (Garfield Heights, Ohio/Garfield Heights) and Darriontae Stewart (Cleveland, Ohio/Rhodes) were also recognized as seniors prior to the contest for their contributions to the Gray Wolf program.
 
Lourdes finished 28-of-59 (47.5%) from the field, including 11-of-26 (42.3%) from three-point range. The Crusaders were 31-of-56 (55.4%) from the floor, including 13-of-33 (39.4%) from beyond the arc.
 
The Gray Wolves (18-12, 9-11 WHAC) return to action on Thursday evening during the quarterfinal round of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. Official tournament pairings will be released by the league office following the conclusion of the regular season.