Box Score GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Lourdes men's basketball (14-4) (8-4 in WHAC) lost to Cornerstone (6-12) (5-7 in WHAC) 79 to 87 on Saturday afternoon, giving them just their second loss in the last month.

The Gray Wolves are two games back from both Indiana Tech and Madonna in the WHAC with a home game against each team still left on their schedule.  

1^st Half
Cornerstone jumped out to a 15 to six lead after going on a 9-0 run between the 16 and 14 minute marks. A subsequent 8-0 run by the Golden Eagles gave them a 23 to 10 lead halfway through the first half.

Cornerstone graduate student guard Blake Stewart was a handful for Lourdes' defenders in the first half, ending up with 18 points after the first 20 minutes. He ended up leading all scorers by the end of the game with 32.  

Still down 13 with five minutes left, Lourdes went on a 13-0 run over the next four minutes to tie the game. A variety of Gray Wolves contributed during the run with a layup by Stephen Coleman Jr., a jumper by Derek Fairley, five points by Karter Koester, a layup by Ben Morrison and a jumper by J'Siah Jefferson.

A Blake Stewart three-pointer to end the half gave Cornerstone a slim 34 to 31 halftime lead.
 
2^nd Half
The second half scoring was very back-and-forth for the first 10 minutes with the Cornerstone lead cut to one (53 to 54).

Freshman guard J'Siah Jefferson led the Gray Wolves in scoring in the second half with 13 points on 80% shooting from the field. Derek Fairley and Karter Koester also came up with big time buckets to score in double figures for the half and keep the game close.

However, a 7-0 Cornerstone run at the eight-minute mark gave the Golden Eagles all the separation they needed to pull away with the eventual eight point victory.

Overall, the second half was dominated by Cornerstone's junior guard Andy Mora, who scored all 17 of his points in the final 20 minutes. Mora not only knocked down a couple big jumpers throughout the half but also was seven for eight from the free throw line in the last few minutes of the game.

Stats
Free throws turned out to be costly for Lourdes as they went 24-for-35 (68.6%) from the free throw line compared to Cornerstone's 13-for-14 (92.9%). The 35 free throw attempts in the game were the most Lourdes has had all season.

Besides free throws, Lourdes played well on both sides of the ball. The Gray Wolves shot 46.4% from the field, only turned the ball over seven times, and had three blocks and six steals on defense.

Individually, Derek Fairley led Lourdes in scoring with 19 points. He still leads Michigan-Dearborn's Jackson Reynolds by 0.1 points per game atop the WHAC stats leaderboard. Fairley also played all 40 minutes in the game after playing 50 minutes in the previous double overtime thriller against Northwestern Ohio; giving him the most minutes played per game in the conference and second most in the entire NAIA (37.0).

Freshman duo Karter Koester and J'Siah Jefferson continue to be a mainstay in the starting rotation, scoring 17 points apiece. Stephen Coleman Jr. had another solid game as he continues his ascend back from injury with 12 points and six rebounds. Jayden Jones also contributed off the bench with four points and four rebounds in 18 minutes.

Coach DuPree's Postgame Comments
"We had too many undisciplined plays on defense and too many missed free throws," coach DuPree said. "After all of that, we still had chances to win. Cornerstone wanted it more than us tonight and they were the tougher team." 

Next Game
Lourdes heads back to the Ebeid Rec Center on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 pm with a crucial rematch with Madonna. The Gray Wolves will look to extend their undefeated home record to 10-0 and pull within a game of second place in the WHAC.