Men's Basketball advances to WHAC Semifinal after 11-point win over Cleary

(Rochester Hills, MI) - The Rochester Christian men's basketball team opened its run at a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament title on Thursday evening, playing host to the Cleary Cougars. An 18-point lead in the first half was enough for the Warriors to earn a 85-76 win, advancing to the WHAC Semifinal round. The Warriors improve to 21-8 on the season. 

FIRST HALF

Tymias Williams earned the first four points for RCU on back-to-back layups with James Fisher gaining possession on a steal. The teams would start to trade baskets with ties occurring at 6, 8, 10, and 12 before RCU started to pull away. Ashton Gould hit two straight three-pointers to move the score up to eight points. 

Following the media timeout, James Fisher would earn and convert on a pair of "and-1's" with Tymias Williams and Darnell Turner Jr. continuing to up the lead as the Warriors finished off the half on a 22-12 run. 

SECOND HALF

Over the first 5:07, Cleary was able to work the 18-point lead down to cut the lead in half with a 12-3 run. Darnell Turner Jr. and Tymias Williams were able to break the run with a quick 7-2 run. RCU built the lead back to 19 points with Linden Holder earning a quick five points with a layup and a three-pointer. 

Another Cleary run was able to draw the game to within 15 points, before five Tyler Allen points and four Tymias Williams points put the lead back to 21. The final couple of minutes had Cleary hitting a couple of threes before James Fisher and Tyler Allen hit layups, and the Warriors would ice the game with their free-throw shooting. 

TOP PERFORMERS

Tyler Allen and Tymias Williams both recorded a team high 18 points, with Darnell Turner Jr. recording 17 and James Fisher tallying 12. Linden Holder led the team in passing with six assists. 

Tyler Allen brought down a team-high 11 rebounds, all defensively, while Darnell Turner Jr. and Tymias Williams each had seven rebounds. Turner Jr. had three steals, while Williams had a pair of blocks. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors will next face off against the Indiana Tech Warriors in the WHAC semifinals on Saturday, February 28, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.