GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -  Cornerstone men's basketball has dropped four games all season with three of them being in overtime as the UM-Dearborn Wolverines tripped up the No. 1 Golden Eagles 90-89 in overtime in Saturday's WHAC Semifinals. The loss drops CU to 28-4 on the year as they will head into the NAIA DII National Tournament starting on either March 8 or 9. The team will find out its first round matchup on Wednesday, February 28 at 6 p.m. EST.
 
Game Flow
The visiting UM-Dearborn Wolverines came out of the gates hot as they jumped out to an early 8-2 lead as they made four of their first five shots from the field. CU responded with a 13-3 run over the next six minutes to take a 15-11 lead and that margin continued to grow with the Golden Eagles eventually leading 32-20 after a Kyle Steigenga flush with 7:12 to play in the first half. UMD came back to get within five but a fade away triple from Steigenga at the buzzer put Cornerstone up 35-27.

After a Michael Bradshaw triple just 14 seconds into the second half gave CU an 11 point lead, the next four minutes was all Dearborn as they went on a 12-2 run to cut the margin to just one. The Wolverines then took their first lead since early in the opening half after five straight points put them up 63-62 with 10:33 on the clock. The closing 10 minutes of regulation saw neither team hold a lead of larger than seven, which was held by CU at the 8:44 mark after Christian Rodriguez hit his second three-pointer in a 3-possession frame.

With the game tied at 79, Cornerstone got a put-back by Kyle Steigenga but then saw MD score the next four leading to the final 30 seconds. After a miss and offensive rebound, Steigenga again came up clutch with a runner in the lane with 19 seconds to tie the game at 83. UM-Dearborn was unable to get off a quality look as time expired in regulation.

Overtime was full of fouls and the Wolverines scored all seven of their points at the foul line. Trailing 88-83, CU got a big triple from Tyler Baker and then MD missed a pair of FT's to set up a final possession with under 20 seconds remaining. Kyle Steigenga's triple from the right wing was just short and Dearborn hit their final two FT's before a Baker 3-pointer at the buzzer finished the game.
 
Say What?
"It was a hard fought game and they made a lot of tough jump shots, especially in the second half. We will rebound and we will look forward to the NAIA National Tourney next week" – Head Coach Kim Elders
 
By the Numbers
20 – Rebounds for Sam Vander Sluis – who now moves into seventh on the all-time career rebounding list
22/20 – Michael Bradshaw and Kyle Steigenga scored 22 and 20 in their final game at Mol Arena
9/20/5 – Vander Sluis had nine points, 20 rebounds and five blocks
19-3 – Cornerstone committed 19 turnovers compared to just three for UMD
12 – CU shot just 12 Free Throws on the game which is their third lowest of season (2 of 3 came against UMD)
3 – Third OT loss for Cornerstone this season (of their four losses)
15 – Total number of points in four Cornerstone losses
 
Up Next
Cornerstone misses out on repeating as WHAC Tournament champions as it will be only the third time since 1998 that the Golden Eagles will not play in the tourney finale. CU will bring a 28-4 overall record into the national tournament that starts on March 8 or 9 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
 
Men's Basketball Contact: Aaron Sagraves
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