Junior guard from, Albion, Mich., Ryan Hopson led the Saints to a 63-56 win over Aquinas. The win was the first of the
year for the Saints. They now move to a 1-3 record on the season. The win was also their first conference game in the WHAC, making them 1-0 in conference play.
Hopson scored 19 points on 6-10 shooting from the field. He also knocked in two 3 pointers. Sophomore guard Donovan Campbell also played well, scoring 16 points.
The game for the most part was an offensive struggle for both teams. Aquinas shot 34.5% from the field, while Siena Heights shot only 35.7% from the field.
The first half of the game was a back and forth defensive slugfest. The Saints took the lead in the first half after a 7-0 run, and never looked back. They led for practically the entire game. Hopson had 10 points in the first half and led the charge during that run. Siena Heights led 28-20 after the first half.
The Saints came out of halftime firing on all cylinders. They built up a 19 point lead 7 minutes into the second half. Aquinas made a nice run down the stretch, cutting the Saints lead down to 6 with a couple minutes left to play. The Saints did a good job of making there free throws down the stretch to seal their first victory.
The deficit that Aquinas put themselves in was just too big of one to make up. Aquinas now falls to 1-5 and 0-1 in WHAC play.
Junior forward Cecil Clark had a good game on the boards, bringing 9 down before getting hurt midway through the second half. The Saints out-rebounded Aquinas 43-35. Siena Heights also grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to only 8 of Aquinas.
Aquinas turned the ball over 16 times in the game, and it killed them. The Saints scored 22 points off those turnovers. They out-scored Aquinas 29-12 in the paint. The Siena Heights benched contributed greatly, out-scoring Aquinas’ bench 26-8.
The Saints next game is Tuesday, November 20th at 8:00 PM. They play in-town rival Adrian College at the Fieldhouse on the Siena Heights campus.