Men's Basketball Hangs On for First Win of the Season

(Huntington, IN)-- It was a back and forth game, but the Cleary Cougars were able to make the plays down the stretch to secure their first victory of the season, as they took down the Indiana-Columbus Crimson Pride 76-70 Saturday afternoon at the Huntington University Ness Brothers Hall of Fame Classic.

The two teams traded points early, but Cleary would find their footing first, taking a 17-10 lead on a Levi McKenzie made three pointer.  The Crimson Pride would claw their way back, and tied the game at 23-23, but the Cougars would reestablish themselves at the end of the first half, and would go into the break up four points after Chris Williams hit a jumper to make it 35-31.

Cleary would storm out of the gate in the second half, and quickly built a double-digit lead, going up by as many as twelve points when Tyree Jones made a shot to make the score 55-43 with 12:25 to play.  The Crimson Pride fought their way back into the game, and tied the score at 66-66 with 3:43 to play.  AJ Hess would knock down a three to give the Cougars the lead back, and after getting a stop, hit another three to make it 72-66 in favor of the Cougars.  IU-Columbus would cut the lead back to three points, but Cleary would make enough free throws down the stretch to earn the win.

Bennie Crenshaw Jr. led Cleary with 17 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds.  Jaylen Cole-Williams had 15 points, while AJ Hess knocked down four three-pointers for 12 points and 8 rebounds.  Austin Santure would add 8 points and 8 rebounds in his first career start.  9/10 Cougars that played would score.  Cleary would outrebound the Crimson Pride 43-36, while IU-Columbus scored 28 points to Cleary's 18 in the paint.

The win gives Cleary a 1-1 record, and the Cougars will be back in action on Monday, November 4, when they travel to legendary Calihan Hall at the University of Detroit to take on the NCAA D1 Titans.  The game is set to begin at 7:00 PM, and will be televised on ESPN+.