Lourdes led wire-to-wire on Wednesday evening as the Gray Wolves posted their third consecutive victory with an 80-62 triumph over Aquinas inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"I think we are getting better at connecting the dots as a team," head coach Dennis Hopson said afterwards.  "Our defense was okay tonight but offensively I thought we still played a little too fast in the half court.  The team is starting to grow with some consistency though."
 
An early 11-3 run allowed the Gray Wolves to build an eight-point lead before the advantage grew to 14, 22-8, following a Joey Holifield (Toledo, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch H.S.) dunk just over eight minutes into the contest.  The Saints made one run in the first half, closing to within seven, 35-28, only to see Lourdes push the lead back to 13, 45-32, over the final three minutes before intermission.
 
Aquinas came out the second half and cut the deficit to five, 49-44, with a 12-4 run to start the stanza.  Lourdes responded with the next five points, beginning a 21-5 run over eight minutes, pushing the lead to 21.  The Saints would close to within 12, 74-62, with 3:28 remaining, but the lead would remain in double figures the rest of the way.
 
Brett Lauf (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon H.S.) led the way for Lourdes with 20 points, making 8-of-9 from the floor including all four three-point attempts.  Little Anderson (Toledo, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch H.S.) added 14 points while Holifield finished with 13.  Jackie Harris (Toledo, Ohio/Saint Francis de Sales H.S.) scored in double figures for his 18 consecutive game dating back to last season, finishing with 11 points.  Clif Snow (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown H.S.) filled the stat sheet with eight points, seven assists, and six rebounds.
 
Lourdes shot 52.5% from the floor and was 8-of-18 (44.4%) from long range while forcing 16 turnovers defensively.
 
Gabe Overway led Aquinas (4-5, 2-3 WHAC) with 19 points while Donovan Brown-Boyd added 10 more.
 
Lourdes (7-2, 3-2) remains at home on Saturday afternoon as the Gray Wolves entertain Lawrence Tech.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. inside the Ebeid Rec Center.