Cincinnati, Ohio—On Saturday, February 5 the Mount St. Joseph University Men's Basketball Program played host to Heartland Conference foe, Manchester University. Both teams carried an (8-11) overall record, however Manchester finds themselves in third overall in the HCAC standings.
This game would serve as a rematch from earlier this season, when the Lions dropped a heartbreaker 83-82 in North Manchester, Indiana. Additionally the program would honor four seniors and their contributions to this program, including Devin Young, Brady Thomas, Tanner Clos and David Luers. Once the dust settled in this onslaught of scoring, the Lions walked away with a Senior day victory 97-41.
The Lions came out of the gates on scorching hot, with Tanner Clos setting up Brady Thomas for an easy layup and the first score of the game. Manchester was able to even the score on their next trip down the floor, before Clos would record his second assist of the game, this time finding Jack Kolar from deep. On the ensuing Spartans possession, Clos would come up with a steal that set up a Thomas three-pointer. Thomas would once again get the deep-ball to fall on the next Lions trip. A pair of made free-throws by Young and a made jump-shot by Luers would send the team into the first media stoppage of the game with a commanding 15-7 lead.
Coming out of the break, both teams struggled to get the lid off of the rim, taking two minutes of action, before Evan Wiehe would feed Freshman Dayne Gardner for a bucket. This would start a 16-0 run that lasted four minutes of play. During this run the defense of the Lions was smothering, seeing Kolar add six points, Gardner contribute four and Young, Thomas and Clos add two individually. This run would see the Lions take complete control of a 31-7 lead.
At the 8:29 mark, the Mount would continue to add to this run, as Young knocked down his second set of shots from the charity stripe. This would be followed a few possessions later with Gardner locating Wiehe for a three-pointer. The Spartans would finally put an end to their cold spell, that lasted over 10 minutes of play. The Lions would then break open a massive 30 point lead when Alex Totton fed Wiehe for another deep-ball.
Under five minutes to play in the first half, the Lions would find Clos at the charity-stripe after extraordinary ball-movement on the transition, the Senior would convert both attempts. On the defensive end of the floor, the Mount would force another turnover, This would allow Luers to feed the do-it-all big-man, Young in the low-post, Young would draw a double-team to free Luers on the opposite side of floor for his first made three-pointer of the afternoon. Young would add the final score of the first half, making a beautiful post move to free himself. This would send the Lions to the half with a massive 48-14 lead.
The explosive scoring of the Lions in the first half saw them shoot 51% from the field, including 47% from behind the arc. Thomas was perfect in this half shooting 4-4 from the field, adding two three-balls as well. Additionally the Lions built a massive 26-15 lead on glass.
It took only 10 seconds for the Spartans to get on the board, converting their first three-point attempt, after a half in which they were 1-14 from deep. It was the Lions who would quickly respond, with Thomas knocking down a lay-up. This would spark a run sending Lures to the line for two made free-throws and Young coming up with a steal that would free Thomas for a fast-break bucket. Thomas would return the favor, feeding Young for a long-ball. This would see the Lions take a 56-19 lead.
Manchester would put an end to the run with a lay-up in transition. Going into the first media stoppage of the second half the Spartans had seemed to get their footing defensively, forcing two consecutive Lions turnovers. Despite the short-lived struggles of the Lions, Totton would feed Wiehe in transition for his third three of the afternoon. After a lul in the scoring, Willard Cluxton would score his first bucket of the night, claiming a loose ball and finding himself wide open for a lay-up.
Manchester would finally earn another score coming out of a timeout, this would matched by Thomas. The Senior guard would drive the left side of the lane, hitting a lay-up as he was fouled, he would miss the free-throw attempt however Young would grab the miss and feed a wide-open Luers in the corner for a three-pointer, coming away with five total points on the trip down the floor. Then Clos would get a steal at the top of the arc, driving it the full length of the court for a bucket. After another stop, the Lions would get another score, this time with Clos pass-faking to clear space for a cutting Thomas who would sink another lay-up attempt. This opened up a 72-29 lead for the program.
After a Spartans trip to the charity-stripe, Thomas would once again find himself wide-open in the break for his 20 point of the game. Before a media timeout at the 7:31 mark both teams had exchanged scores, sending the game to a break 76-33.
The Mount would continue to build their lead, as Gardner would hand the ball off to an open Totton behind the arc for the Lions 11 deep-ball score of the game. After another stop Gardner would cut down the left-side of the lane, with Cluxton feeding him. The Freshman guard would convert the lay-up and finish his and-one attempt from the stripe. Then the team would open a 50 point margin on their next trip, as Wiehe connected another deep ball. The run would continue when Totton would grab an offensive board, that would be swung into the corner, kicked into the post and fed back out to Totton for the second three-ball in as many trips. After a miss by the Spartans, Gardner would grab the defensive board and get fouled sending him to the line for a one-and-one attempt that he connected on both.
With four minutes remaining in this offensive clinic the Lions would welcome a fresh group of players to the floor for the first time this game. It would be Brandon Barber off the bench that would keep the scoring alive for the Lions, converting a beautiful post hook for a score. He would once again score on his next touch, knocking down a post-jumper. After several stops by bother defenses, Freshman Kendall McWhorter would give the Lions a curtain call knocking down the final bucket of the game for the team. This would see the game finish the game, winning by a score of 97-41.
This was a complete effort by the team, seeing 12 players enter the scoring column, accompanied by 5 players entering double-digits. Additionally, the Lions set a new program record, for points allowed in a single game. The previous record was in the 2003-04 season against Bluffton, when they held the Beavers to 42 points. Thomas was phenomenal for the Lions, missing only one attempt from the field as he finished with 20 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in just 18 minutes of play. Luers and Wiehe would contribute 12 points each. Freshman Dayne Gardner added 11 points and pulled in 5 rebounds off of the bench. Rounding out the double-digit scoring was Senior Devin Young, Young recorded another double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds while stuffing the stat sheet with 5 assists and 4 steals.
Other notable performances for the Lions included Senior Tanner Clos. Clos would score six points while pulling in 9 rebounds, dishing 2 assists and helping the team on the defensive end of the floor with two steals. Kolar would knock down three deep-ball for the Lions and Totton would convert on two attempts from deep.
After this masterful performance by the Lions, they turn their attentions to their next opponent, Transylvania University. This game will take place on Wednesday, February 9 at the campus of Transylvania University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM. For continued coverage of this upcoming game and all other MSJ Athletics continue to follow msjlions.com
