Men's Basketball Comes Up Short at Aquinas

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - UNOH men's basketball erased double-digit leads multiple times against Aquinas but didn't have enough in the tank to get over the finish line as the Saints took the win, 86-74.

A tight game early was blown open by an 14-4 run by Aquinas that gave the Saints a 38-21 lead with 4:45 left in the first half. The Racers clawed their way back with their own 16-6 run to cut the lead to seven with 82 seconds remaining, but Aquinas rattled off the final six points of the half to hold a 13-point lead at the break. The Saints balooned their lead to 17 to start the second, but again, UNOH found a way to get back in the game pulling within five points at 65-60. That was as close as the Racers could get as the Saints rebuilt their cushion to finish off the game 86-74.

"I'm proud of our fight to come back from 17 down and cut it to two possessions twice," head coach Richard Westerlund said after the game. "We are seeing progress in our system and doing some positive things."

Jayden Priddy-Powell led the team with a season high 24 points shooting 6-12 from the field and 9-10 from the charity stripe. Grant Pikkaart earned a career high 18 points on 6-11 shooting (55%) while dishing out a career high seven assists. Cedric Delancy, Jr. chipped in eight off the bench with Jordan Ross and DJ Bogay each adding six.

"The reality is, though, that we need to find a way to win these close games," continued Westerlund. "I believe in this group even if our results don't match our process. I know our breakthrough is coming."

The Racers will try to breakthrough in their fourth of five road games on Saturday, January 6, when they head to The Don to face Lawrence Tech at 3:00 PM.