Lourdes battled back from an 11-point halftime deficit to build a second half lead, only to see Cornerstone pull out a victory over the Gray Wolves in the final minute, 74-71, inside Mol Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Saturday.
 
"We played hard," head coach Dennis Hopson said afterwards.  "In the end there were a couple of plays that we didn't make.  We lost a rebound late and they hit a big three."
 
Lourdes started strong, building a 19-13 lead just seven minutes into the contest behind a balanced offensive attack.  Cornerstone responded with seven straight points to pull in front by one two minutes later, only to see the Gray Wolves answer with six consecutive points of their own, giving Lourdes a 25-20 lead with nine minutes to play before halftime.
 
Cornerstone tied the game at 27 before Lourdes retook a 31-27 lead with six minutes remaining in the first half.  The Golden Eagles then closed the stanza on a 20-5 run over those final six minutes, taking a 47-36 lead into the locker room as the hosts shot 54.5% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Coming out of the break, Lourdes scored the first seven points to close within four, only to see Cornerstone score the next five points to push the advantage back to nine.  Joey Holifield (Toledo, Ohio/Cardinal Stritch H.S.) scored six of the next eight points for Lourdes to pull within one while a Shaunn Monroe (Charleston, W. Va./Fairborn [Ohio] H.S.) jumper from the elbow gave the Gray Wolves the lead 53-52.  Monroe then added a steal and score, capping a 12-0 Lourdes run.
 
The Lourdes lead grew to five, 64-59, before back-to-back three-pointers by the Golden Eagles put the hosts back in front with six minutes to play, part of an 8-0 run that gave Cornerstone a three-point advantage.  The teams traded baskets for the next three minutes before Monroe drained a triple with 2:30 to play, tying the game at 71.
 
After both teams committed turnovers, Luke Rowlinson put Cornerstone back in front, scoring inside with 1:43 to play.  Lourdes missed on its next possession, but forced a shot clock violation by the Golden Eagles, getting the ball back with 36.9 seconds to play.
 
The Gray Wolves missed on the next possession and had to foul, sending Cory Ainsworth to the free throw line with 7.5 ticks left on the clock.  He made the first and missed the second.  Monroe came down and had a clear look from the right wing to tie at the buzzer, but just missed the mark.
 
Monroe led Lourdes with 22 points and six assists while Holifield added 20 points and six rebounds. 
 
Cory Ainsworth led Cornerstone (23-7) with 19 points while Mason Brooks came off the bench to add 15 points.
 
Lourdes (22-6) will now have to wait until Thursday evening to learn its fate as to whether the Gray Wolves will earn an at-large bid to the NAIA National Championships.