WARRIORS DEFEAT AQUINAS BEHIND LATE HEROICS FROM FARROW

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Warriors found themselves on the positive end of a second game-winner this season at the Sturrus Center against Aquinas on Wednesday night, defeating the Saints 69-67. Following a late shot to tie the game by the Saints, center Stavros Polatoglou fired an inbounds pass 3/4 up the court to forward Dustin Farrow, who hit an incredible turnaround floater to win the game with .3 seconds remaining. Brett White and Brody Parker led the Warriors in scoring with 24 and 23 points, respectively. The Saints had four players score in double-figures in the contest. 

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST HALF

The Warriors had a stellar start on both ends of the floor, beginning the game up 9-2 behind a balanced scoring attack that included five points from White. The Saints recovered from the slow start with a three by guard Jadakiss Lewis, but the Warriors kept the lead up with baskets inside. Farrow, who was part of the interior scoring attack for RCU, stole a pass from a Saints player for an easy score on the other end to put the Warriors up nine. 

RCU grew the lead to 13 off a jumper by Parker at the 9:54 mark, but Aquinas would use home court to their advantage, getting hot from the midrange to cut the lead down to two with just under six minutes remaining in the first half. Not done just yet, the Saints hit a huge three in transition to take the lead when forward Caden Pokorznsky blocked a shot attempt that turned into a pull-up three for Jacob Howard.  

The shotmaking continued to go Aquinas' way for the next few minutes, with another three falling to put the Warriors down six. However, the Warriors had one of their most important stretches of the game, ending the first half with a huge two-for-one opportunity. Guard Gunner Walters hit a mid-range jumper with 36 seconds remaining, and forward Ashton Goul hit a three after a stop by the Warriors to have RCU go into halftime down 33-32. 

SECOND HALF

The lead exchanged a few times between the two teams to begin the second half, but both teams had a lid on the rim for three minutes after the Warriors went up 36-35. Aquinas' Lewis broke the cold spell, hitting two free throws before knocking down a three to put the hosts up 40-36. Farrow and Walters connected inside for a layup by the forward to trim the lead, but another jumper by Lewis had the Saints up four entering the first media timeout of the half. 

The media timeout gave the Warriors new life after going down six, beginning with a three by Parker to get the deficit down to one possession. White nailed a signature midrange fadeaway shortly after, and Farrow continued to dominate the paint with another layup. To cap the run off, White threw down a huge dunk off a pass by Walters to keep the Warriors storming. The Saints regained the lead with a few baskets to answer the run, but an and-one by White had the teams tied with under nine minutes to go. 

There were more lead changes to come as time wound down, with Parker scoring five consecutive points for the Warriors to answer lead grabs by the Saints. The Saints took the lead again, 62-59 off free throws, before the senior guard hit another three to tie the game for RCU. With 2:30 to go, White chimed in with another midrange shot to put the Warriors up two. Parker responded to two made free throws by the Saints with another jumper, but this game was destined for a photo-finish. 

The Saints closed the gap to 66-65 with over a minute to go, and the Warriors put themselves in an interesting spot defensively by making just one free throw off a foul by the Saints. Down two, Saints guard Kaleb Mitchelson took the ball the length of the floor and made a move to get an open layup with 3.8 seconds remaining to tie the game. Determined not to go to overtime, Polatoglou immediately took the ball to the baseline and zipped the ball across the length of the floor to a running Farrow, who managed to do a full 180 turn off two steps and throw a shot off the glass for the win.

STAT OF THE GAME

The Warriors overcame a cold day at the three-point line with 36 points in the paint compared to Aquinas' 26. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors go back on the road on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tipoff with the Madonna Crusaders in Livonia. 

Hussein Murray - RCU Athletic Communications

Featured Image: Casey Burke - Aquinas Athletics