LANSING, Mich. – Lourdes men's basketball (9-2) (5-2 in WHAC) fell 73-87 against Cleary University (5-7) (4-3 in WHAC) on Wednesday evening in the Gannon Gymnasium. The defeat was the Gray Wolves' first loss in nearly a month.

Despite the loss, Lourdes is still tied with Lawrence Tech for second place in the WHAC standings. This also marks the second consecutive year that the Gray Wolves have begun the year with a 9-2 record in mid-December.

Lourdes' next WHAC game is home against Lawrence Tech on Jan. 3, which may prove crucial in the way the final conference standings shake out.

The game against Cleary was neck-and-neck in the first half with the Cougars clinging onto a three-point halftime lead. Midway through the second half, Cleary was narrowly up 66-59 before going on an 11-0 run in less than three minutes. The run changed the outlook of the game and Cleary closed the game leading by double digits.

Stat Leaders
Sophomore guard Derek Fairley had another spectacular game for the Gray Wolves, securing 30 points for the fourth time this season, while also draining five three-pointers. The performance extends his double-digit scoring streak to 12 games, dating back to last year.

Center Charlie Wood continued his impressive freshman campaign with a career-high 20 points in the contest. Wood now has seven double-digit scoring games on the year.

Rounding out the double-digit scorers for Lourdes was senior guard/forward Stephen Coleman Jr. with 14 points. Sophomore guard Adonus Abrams had a well-rounded night on both sides of the ball, passing for a team-high five assists, while getting three steals. Junior guard Ben Morrison led the Gray Wolves in the game with seven rebounds.

Cleary's offense was led by freshman forward/center Tim Kewley. He gave the Cougars a much needed boost of production off the bench, leading the team with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Team Comparison
Overall, Lourdes shot the ball better than Cleary from deep, connecting on 46.7% of threes, compared to the Cougars 38.9%. However, Cleary's bench produced 34 points compared to Lourdes' three, creating multiple runs for the Cougars to build off of with their starters.

Coach DuPree's Postgame Comments
"Hats off to Cleary, they came ready to play tonight. I thought we came out the way we wanted to in the first half, but we weren't consistent on either end of the floor after they made their run to take the lead. We just have to re-group and bounce back."

Next Game
Lourdes will head 15 minutes east to take on local D1 opponent Toledo on Saturday, Dec. 20 at Noon in Savage Arena. The Rockets are 5-6 on the season.