GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The University of Michigan-Dearborn men's basketball team dropped a back-and-forth contest with Aquinas College Saturday in Grand Rapids, Mich., as the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference regular season nears a conclusion, with a logjam in the middle of the standings.
The Wolverines led by three points after an old-fashioned 3-point play from junior Xavier Crofford(JR/Detroit, MI) with 15:28 to go. The Saints quickly rebounded and gained an edge, but were never able to pull away from the Wolverines.
UM-Dearborn missed two shots to tie the game in the final seconds and fell 65-62, dropping to 16-11 overall and 11-6 in the WHAC.
The Wolverines are currently in fourth place in the league standings, a half game behind Aquinas, which holds the tiebreaker over UM-Dearborn with a sweep in the season series. Madonna is two games behind the Wolverines, with the two teams set to meet at the UM-Dearborn Fieldhouse next week.
Senior Jason Penn (SR/Detroit, MI) led the Wolverines with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting while adding four rebounds and two blocks. Junior Mafiaion Joyner(JR/Battle Creek, MI) came off the bench to score 12 points and grab seven rebounds, while Crofford added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
The Wolverines shot 24-of-52 from the field, 5-of-19 from deep and 9-of-11 at the line while being outrebounded 36-33.
Deric Murray led the Saints with 16 points off the bench, while Rob Diaz added 13 points and three 3-pointers.
UM-Dearborn plays its final road game of the regular season at the University of Northwestern Ohio at 7:30 pm Wednesday in Lima, Ohio.
