SYLVANIA, Ohio – Lourdes men's basketball (21-8, 14-8 in WHAC) defeated Lawrence Tech (16-11, 12-10 in WHAC), 70 to 60 on Thursday night in the conference tournament's first round.
The fourth-seeded Gray Wolves split the season series with the fifth-seeded Blue Devils, beating them at home in the beginning of January, but recently losing by double-digits to them on the road.
The home court advantage once again rang true for Lourdes as they took care of business against one of their conference rivals. The Gray Wolves will be moving onto the WHAC Tournament semifinals against top-ranked Madonna on Saturday at 3pm.
1st Half
Lawrence Tech started off the game in control, leading Lourdes by seven with seven minutes left. Six-foot-nine center Ramon Zapater had 13 first-half points for Lawrence Tech as he was using his height advantage to get easy baskets in the paint.
Sophomore guard
Derek Fairley struggled for Lourdes in the first half, shooting 0-for-5 with three free throws accounting for his only points. Fairley also got into some early foul trouble and was benched for the final six minutes of the half.
Despite the bleak outlook, sophomore
Adonus Abrams rose to the occasion and took over the game offensively for Lourdes. Abrams made tough shot after tough shot and brought Lourdes within two points at the half. The Columbus native dropped 10 points in the half and led all scorers with 23 total in the game, just two points shy of his career-high. Abrams talked postgame about stepping up in the big moment.
"Early on I was hitting a lot of mid-range shots," Abrams said. "When Derek got some fouls I had to keep us in the game offensively, so that's what I needed to do to help us win. Last time we played (Lawrence Tech) it was bad defensively. I feel like we worked hard in practice at getting our defense together so we can get farther in the tournament."
2nd Half
A few things switched for Lourdes in the second half that allowed them to take the lead and never give it back to the Blue Devils: interior defense, perimeter defense, and drawing fouls.
The interior defense of freshman center
Charlie Wood eliminated Zapater from the game in the second half, holding him to two points. Wood also racked up three blocks in the second half and had a career-high four blocks total in the game. The local Swanton product talked postgame about his ability to contribute big defensive minutes off the bench for the Gray Wolves.
"Coming into this game, the big focus was protecting the paint," Wood said. "We made an emphasis on protecting the rim and I got in there and I got the job done tonight."
The perimeter defense was also elite from Lourdes in the second half, forcing Lawrence Tech to go 0-for-12 from beyond the arc. Abrams helped with this attack by forcing five steals in the game. He has forced 11 steals in the last two games combined. While Lourdes was forcing turnovers consistently, they themselves were being extremely protective of the basketball. The Gray Wolves had a season-low six turnovers in the contest.
The final factor that separated the two squads was Lourdes' ability to get to the foul line. Although Fairley wasn't shooting as well as he usually does, he did what all good leaders do and found a different way to score. Fairley consistently got to the line in the second half, shooting 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.
Fairley ended the game shooting a season-low 20% from the field, but scored the second-most points on the team with 17. He went 10-for-10 from the free throw line in total and helped ice the double digit victory.
Stats
Lourdes outshot Lawrence Tech by 6% from the field and by a whopping 17% from the three-point line. Lawrence Tech had a better free throw percentage but got to the line seven less times than Lourdes.
Defensively, Lourdes won the turnover battle by nine; racking up nine steals in the game. The biggest advantage Lawrence Tech saw in their game was their height, helping them to gain a +8 rebound advantage.
Next Up
Lourdes plays Madonna on the road on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 3pm with a spot in the WHAC Tournament Championship on the line. The winner will take on either Rochester Christian or Indiana Tech in the final on Tuesday, March 3.
