Lourdes picked up its fifth consecutive victory and 11^th in its last 12 games on Wednesday evening as the Gray Wolves defeated Madonna 96-87 inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"The guys were super focused tonight and understood the importance of the game," head coach Dennis Hopson said afterwards.  "We had 22 points off their 16 turnovers and shot the ball pretty good.  I didn't like giving up so many easy baskets in the second half though."
 
Jackie Harris (Toledo, Ohio/Saint Francis de Sales H.S.) had a double-double, scoring 22 points while making five three-pointers, and added 11 rebounds.  Little Anderson (Toledo, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch H.S.) scored a game-high 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor while dishing out six assists.  Joey Holifield (Toledo, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch H.S.) added 20 points and six assists while Clif Snow (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown H.S.) contributed 13 points.
 
Lourdes started fast, as an early 10-0 run gave the Gray Wolves a 25-15 advantage just 10 minutes into the game.  The lead grew to as many as 16 in the first half before a Crusader triple at the buzzer sent the Gray Wolves into the locker room with a 47-34 advantage.
 
The Gray Wolves scored the first five points out of the break and eventually built a 19-point advantage, 63-44, with 14:34 to play in the game.  A 16-6 run by Madonna allowed the Crusaders to pull within 11, 72-65, with just under nine minutes remaining but Lourdes immediately pushed the lead back to 12.  The Crusaders would cut their deficit to seven with 4:30 to play but Lourdes scored the next four points to secure the victory.
 
Lourdes shot 53.3% from the floor including 42.9% from three-point range and committed just 10 turnovers while handing out 18 assists.  The Gray Wolves forced 16 Crusaders turnovers, 10 via steals, to offset Madonna's 52.3% shooting for the game, including a 51.7% (15-of-29) clip from long range.  The visitors shot 61.8% from the field in the second half.
 
Ethan Emerzian led Madonna (18-7, 11-6 WHAC) with 21 points off the bench, including five three-pointers.  Henry Speigth and Mark Mettie added 15 points each.
 
Lourdes (19-6, 13-4) closes out the home portion of the regular season on Saturday afternoon as the Gray Wolves host the University of Northwestern Ohio.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. inside the Ebeid Rec Center.