Men's Basketball Loses Heartbreaker After Last Second Tip-In by Lourdes

(Sylvania, OH)-- The Cleary Cougar men's basketball team battled back to tie the game late, but lost on a final second tip-in to the Lourdes Gray Wolves Wednesday evening in Sylvania, Ohio.

After Lourdes hit a three to start the game, Jacob Mueller hit a jumper to get the Cougars on the board.  The Gray Wolves would go on a run to take a 10-2 lead before Bennie Crenshaw Jr. hit a three to cut into the deficit.  Lourdes would extend their lead to twelve points by the halfway mark of the half.  A Chris Williams jumper, followed by a pair of Tyree Jones free throws made it a six point game.  After a Lourdes layup, Levi McKenzie knocked down a three, followed by a Jaylen Cole-Williams three to make the score 21-24.  Lourdes scored four straight points before a Nick Moore three with just over two minutes to play in the half made it a four point game once again.  Lourdes would score late, and the two teams went into halftime with the score 30-24 in favor of the Gray Wolves.

Lourdes would strike first in the second half, but Cleary got things going with another Jaylen Cole-Williams three pointer.  Jacob Mueller got into the action from behind the arc, hitting a three two possessions later, and the score would be 34-32 in favor of Lourdes.  A Chris Williams layup tied the game on Cleary's next possession.  The Gray Wolves would go on another run, building first a ten point lead, and after Cleary cut that lead to only one point, the Gray Wolves then built an eight point lead with five minutes remaining in the game.  Cleary started their comeback when Jacob Mueller hit a pair of free throws, and after a steal and layup by Tyree Jones, the deficit would be four points.  A dunk with 2:12 to play by Chris Williams made it a two point game.  After Lourdes scored a jumper of their own, Tyree Jones answered with a layup, once again cutting the deficit to two points.  Cleary would get the defensive stop they needed, and after a timeout by Cleary, the ball was given to Jacob Mueller whose jumper was off the mark.  Fortunately for Cleary, Chris Williams was there to clean up the glass, and his follow up layup was good to tie the game with ten seconds to play.  Lourdes drove through the defense, and their initial shot was missed, but the Gray Wolves beat the Cougars to the ball for the offensive rebound, as Lourdes' Derrell Jones dunked the ball into the basket with 0.7 seconds on the clock.  Cleary's desperation attempt was off the mark, and the game ended with Lourdes winning 64-62.

Jacob Mueller had a team high 15 points, while Chris Williams added 12 points and 9 rebounds.  Jaylen Cole-Williams added 10 points, while Tyree Jones had 9 points and 9 rebounds.

Cleary falls to 7-16, 6-11 in the WHAC.  The Cougars will be back at home on Saturday as they welcome the Cornerstone Golden Eagles to Gannon Gym a WHAC contest.  Cleary will honor their seniors immediately following the women's game at approximately 2:30, and will play at approximately 3:00 PM.