Box Score SYLVANIA, Ohio – Lourdes men's basketball (12-2) (6-2 in WHAC) beat Lawrence Tech (9-5) (5-3 in WHAC) 69 to 65 on Saturday afternoon, remaining undefeated (8-0) in the Ebeid Rec Center.

The victory extends their winning streak to three games and brings the Gray Wolves within one game of No. 9 Indiana Tech for first place in the conference. The two squads will face off next Wednesday with first place on the line.  

Lourdes led Lawrence Tech 28-20 at the half with the first half being dominated by defense. The Gray Wolves had three steals and two blocks. The two offenses came alive to start the second half, each exchanging 8-0 runs to keep the game at an eight point Lourdes lead with 14 minutes left to play.

Freshman guard J'Siah Jefferson capped off another Gray Wolves 8-0 run with a thunderous block and steal in consecutive plays. The Lourdes lead was 16 with 10 minutes left to play in regulation.

"J'Siah's tough, he doesn't play like a freshman," Coach DuPree said. When he steps on the court, he's not afraid of anything. When we see that as coaches, we would be dumb not to leave him in and not put the ball in his hands. He was making plays on both ends of the court tonight and he did a terrific job."

The Blue Devils didn't let up however, forcing four Gray Wolves turnovers over the next six minutes to shrink the lead back down to nine. With 17 seconds left in the game, Lourdes was up 65 to 60 before sophomore guard Derek Fairley pick-pocketed a Lawrence Tech guard to solidify the Lourdes victory.

J'Siah Jefferson and Derek Fairley scored a combined 43 of the Gray Wolves' 69 points. Jefferson had a career-high 21 points on 72.7% shooting from the field. He also contributed a team-high three steals. Meanwhile, Fairley led the team in scoring with 22 points.

Defensively, sophomore Adonus Abrams led all players with 11 rebounds. Freshman center Charlie Wood also swatted three Blue Devils' shots in the game.

Overall, the Gray Wolves played prolific defense that forced 17 total Blue Devils' turnovers. Offensively, Lourdes outshot Lawrence Tech 43.3% to 31.0% from the field and 23.5% to 20.0% from the three-point line. Lawrence Tech led in the rebound category 48 to 42.

Coach DuPree's Postgame Comments
"The defensive intensity was one of the keys going into the game," Coach DuPree said. "When you're playing against a heavy-powered offense like that you have to be ready to play defensively and that was our message. We're not as much worried about the offense; Coach Lauf does a great job calling the offense. If you can buckle down and show up and play defense, you'll have a really good chance to win the game. I loved our guys' effort tonight. We had a few bonehead mistakes here and there, but you'll take that when you see some of the effort these guys are playing with."

Next Game
Lourdes will take on 9th-ranked Indiana Tech on Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. on the road as part of a men's and women's double header. The matchup is crucial as Lourdes would jump the Warriors for first place in the WHAC.