Lourdes saw its 2019-2020 season come to a close on Wednesday evening, as the Gray Wolves were nipped by Cornerstone 72-69 in the quarterfinals of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
The Gray Wolves committed just seven turnovers on the evening, and only two after halftime, but shot just 34.8% from the floor, including 5-of-22 (22.7%) from three-point range while the Golden Eagles connected at a 50% clip, including 11-of-25 (44%) from beyond the arc.
 
"We didn't shoot the ball well again tonight," head coach Dennis Hopson said following the game.  "They only had one guy in double figures, but he killed us."
 
Cornerstone's Christian Rodriguez tallied 28 points, making 6-of-8 from long range, to lead all scorers.
 
"Our game plan was to hold Rodriguez and (Cory) Ainsworth down," Hopson said.  "We did a nice job on Ainsworth but we couldn't stop Rodriguez."
 
Early on Lourdes was able to build a 23-14 lead, in part by getting to the free throw line.  The Gray Wolves were 10-of-10 from the stripe in the first 11 minutes of the contest while building the nine-point lead and the Lourdes defense held Cornerstone to just 6-of-20 shooting to start.
 
The Golden Eagles heated up, making six of their next seven shots, and went on a 13-3 run over three minutes to jump in front 27-26.  Cornerstone pushed its lead to as many as six late in the first half before Lourdes closed to within three, 37-34, at the break.
 
Lourdes scored the first four points of the second half to retake the lead, and the game seesawed back and forth for the first nine minutes of the second half.  A Bryce McComb (Swanton, Ohio/Swanton H.S.) three put the Gray Wolves on top 50-49, only to see Cornerstone answer with the next seven points, rebuilding a 58-52 lead with 7:11 to play.
 
Again, the Gray Wolves battled back, scoring seven in a row and retaking the lead on a triple by Clif Snow (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown H.S.) at the 4:13 mark.  After the Golden Eagles went back on top, Tyler Davis (Pontiac, Mich./West Bloomfield H.S.) created a steal and went the distance with a dunk, putting Lourdes on top 63-62 with 2:23 to play.
 
That would be Lourdes final advantage, as Cornerstone (19-11)answered with a pair of free throws and added two more on the following possession.
 
A Rodriguez three with 37.7 seconds left gave Cornerstone a 69-65 lead before Davis answered with two free throws for the Gray Wolves.  The Golden Eagles split a pair at the line with 26.2 left and Kenny Coleman (Toledo, Ohio/Saint Francis de Sales H.S.) scored inside to make it a one-point contest with 14.7 ticks left on the clock.
 
Rodriguez pushed the lead back to three with a pair from the charity stripe with 12.6 seconds left, but Lourdes had one last chance.  Mike Bruce (Ypsilanti, Mich./Ypsilanti H.S.) missed the mark from three and even though Snow grabbed the offensive rebound, time expired on the Gray Wolves.
 
McRay White (Cleveland, Ohio/Garfield Heights H.S.) led Lourdes with 13 points, including 9-of-10 from the free throw line, while Julian Egbo (Toledo, Ohio/Rogers H.S.) added 11 points, all in the first half.  Snow and Little Anderson (Toledo, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch H.S.) had nine points each while Coleman handed out eight assists.
 
Lourdes (20-11) outrebounded Cornerstone 44-28, including a 21-44 edge on the offensive end, but converted the opportunities into just 18 second chance points.