Men's Basketball's Comeback Bid Comes Up Short

(Livonia, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar men's basketball team got into a slugfest with one of the WHAC's best, but the Cougars came up short as they fell to the Madonna Crusaders 76-68 Saturday afternoon in Livonia.

Tyree Jones got the game's first basket, and a Chris Williams layup would keep the game tied at 4-4 in the early goings.  Madonna would get hot from the floor, as the Crusaders extended their lead to double-digits.  That lead would grow to as many as 20 points in the first half, but the Cougars fought back to cut into the Madonna lead, and trailed 42-26 after the first twenty minutes.  

The second half started with a Crusader three pointer, but the rest of the game would favor the Cougars.  Cleary clawed back to narrow the lead to only five points in just the first six minutes of second half action, but Madonna would withstand that run and regained a double-digit lead with 11:30 still to play.  The two teams would trade baskets over the next few minutes, but Cleary would once again go on a run, when Bennie Crenshaw Jr. got the Cougars within five for the second time, this time with 6:46 to play.  The lead would hover around six points for the next three minutes, but a pair of missed shots led to a pair of Crusader baskets, and the hosts would take control of the game for good.  Chris Williams' layup as time expired kept the deficit under ten points, but the Crusaders would claim the victory.

Case Conley led the Cougars with 16 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.  Chris Williams added 13 points and 2 steals, while Jaylen Cole-Williams added 12 points and 2 steals.  Bennie Crenshaw Jr. had 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.  Brockton Kohler chipped in 7 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.

The two teams combined for 53 free throw attempts, with Cleary making 18-26 free throws.  Cleary shot 22-60 from the floor, and was outrebounded 52-26 in the game.

Cleary falls to 1-14 overall, and 1-9 in WHAC play.  The Cougars will be back on the road on Wednesday, when they travel to UM-Dearborn to take on the Wolverines.  The game is set to start at 7:30 PM.