No. 1 Men’s Hoops starts fast in 82-61 win

Box Score

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Cornerstone jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the opening two minutes, increased the margin to twenty at halftime and the No. 1 ranked Golden Eagles cruised to an 82-61 win in their home opener. The victory, the fifth straight for CU, lifts them to 5-1 on the year and 2-0 in league play as they will head to Lawrence Tech on Tuesday for an 8 p.m. tip against the Blue Devils.

Game Flow
Playing in front of their home crowd for the first time this season seemed to ignite the Golden Eagles as they jumped all over Madonna early and never let the foot off the pedal as they cruised to the 21-point win. CU scored nine of the first 11 points and eventually pushed the lead to 27-9 on a layup from Travis Wells (SR/Eaton Rapids, Mich.) forcing the Crusaders to use two early timeouts.

Madonna, who fell behind by 20 at Mol Arena last year only to have a chance to win it at the buzzer, came out and were stopped on their first three possessions of the second half and CU would up their lead to as many as 29 with just under 10 minutes to play in the game.

Say What?
"I like how we came out today in both halves. Energy and smart basketball helped us go on runs to put away a quality Madonna team" – Head Coach Kim Elders

By the Numbers
19/9 – Kyle Steigenga (SO/Holland, Mich.) finished with numbers just higher than his season average in points and rebounds
50 – Combined scoring between Steigenga, Ben Lanning (SR/Grandville, Mich.) (16) and Travis Wells (15)
18 – Assists for Cornerstone on 25 made baskets
17 – CU forced the Crusaders into 17 turnovers – in which they converted into 21 points

Up Next
Cornerstone heads back on the road on Tuesday where they will meet Lawrence Tech in Southfield for an 8 p.m. tip.

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