Lourdes opened the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament on Thursday evening with a convincing 84-64 victory over Rochester (Mich.) in the quarterfinals inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
 
"We played well tonight," head coach Dennis Hopson said afterwards.  "The defensive toughness we need was there.  A lot of guys showed us some different things tonight against a very good Rochester team.  We got a big contribution from Ethan (Damerum)."
 
The lead changed hands seven times in the first 12 minutes of the game.  With the Gray Wolves trailing by one, 18-17, Shaunn Monroe (Charleston, W. Va./Fairborn [Ohio] H.S.) and Ethan Damerum (Cressage, England/Chornwood Riders H.S.) hit back-to-back jumpers to start a 6-0 spurt that put Lourdes in front for good.  The Gray Wolves led by just three with 3:24 to play before halftime but ended the stanza on a 10-2 run to build an 11-point lead, 39-28, at the break.
 
The third-seeded Gray Wolves scored the first basket of the second half to lead by 13 before Rochester chipped away, cutting the lead to nine, 43-34, at the 16:47 mark.  Kendall Perkins (Plymouth, Mich./Canton H.S.) hit a three and scored five straight points to start a 15-3 run, pushing the Lourdes advantage to 21, 58-37, with 12:28 to play.
 
Rochester, the tournament's sixth seed, answered with an 11-3 run to pull back with 13, but Lourdes pulled away for good with a 19-5 run over the next six minutes to lead by as many as 27, 80-53, on the way to cruising into the semifinals.
 
"Tonight, we showed that we were able to sustain their runs and then put our foot on the gas," Hopson added.
 
Monroe led Lourdes with 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor while handing out five assists.  Jackie Harris (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales H.S.) added 22 points, 17 of which came in the second half and Joey Holifield (Toledo, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch H.S.) registered a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.  Damerum tallied six points, seven rebounds, and four steals.
 
The Gray Wolves shot 47.3% from the floor on the night and committed just nine turnovers while outrebounding the Warriors 45-31, including 15-8 on the offensive end.  Lourdes also turned 14 Warrior turnovers into 25 points.
 
James Fisher led Rochester (17-12) with 13 points while Brandon Michrina added 12 more.
 
Lourdes (22-5) will head to Grand Rapids, Mich. on Saturday afternoon for the semifinals to battle second-seeded Cornerstone.  Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. inside Mol Arena.