Men's Basketball | 1/17/2023 11:17:00 AM

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Golden Eagles are set to begin a tough four game stretch as they travel to two of the top four teams in the WHAC this week. CU starts action at (RV) Madonna on Wednesday night before traveling to Sylvania, Ohio to take on the red-hot Lourdes Gray Wolves on Saturday. For more information on this week's action, visit the links below. 
 
Opponent: (RV) Madonna
Location: Livonia, Mich. (Alliance Catholic Credit Union Arena)  
Date: Wednesday, January 18
Time: 7:30 p.m. EST
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Opponent: Lourdes
Location: Sylvania, Ohio (Ebeid Recreation Center) 
Date: Saturday, January 21
Time: 3 p.m. EST
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Last Week Recap
The Golden Eagles went 1-1 for the second straight week, falling vs. Lawrence Tech before rebounding with a big win vs. UNOH. CU is now 13-6, 7-4 WHAC and sits tied for fourth in the WHAC standings with nine games to go. 
 
Day Time Dubs vs. Nighttime Scary's 
Cornerstone has had a unique split so far this season in record in day games vs. night games (contests that tip off at 5 p.m. or later). CU is a perfect 8-0 in games during the day but have a losing record of 5-6 in nighttime contests. In the 2021-22 season, Cornerstone finished the season 14-7 in night games and 8-3 in daytime contests. 
 
Next Four Top Four
The Golden Eagles have a massive four game stretch on their hands, as they will play all four teams that sit above/tied with them in the standings. Three of those four contests will also be on the road, starting this week at (RV) Madonna and at Lourdes. Cornerstone then comes home to host (11) Indiana Tech who is leading the WHAC, and then hits the road again to play Rochester. 
 
Steffen hits 100
Junior Eli Steffen is the first Golden Eagle of the 2022-23 season to surpass 100 assists after a seven-assist game vs. UNOH. Steffen currently ranks second in the WHAC at 5.4 assists per game behind Gunner Walters, a freshman from Rochester, who averages 5.8 a game. Steffen now has 121 assists for his career as he had nine each of the last two seasons. 

Scouting Madonna
The veteran Madonna squad comes into the second matchup with CU with a 14-5, 7-4 WHAC record. Last time out in Grand Rapids, Cornerstone earned a 94-92 victory over the Crusaders, but MU was without leading scorer Mark Mettie due to injury. The Crusaders are led by Mettie, Henry Speight, and Brendan Young who all average 14+ points per game. Last time out, Madonna lost by nine to Indiana Tech on the road and they have lost two of their last three games falling to both Tech schools in the WHAC. 
 
Scouting Lourdes
The Gray Wolves get better with time as they are currently on a five-game winning streak, including wins over Rochester and Indiana Tech and they sit at 14-5, 8-3 WHAC on the year. Lourdes is outstanding on the defensive end, holding opponents to 69.5 PPG. They are also outstanding in close games as they have gone 7-3 in games decided by 10 points or less. The top six leading scorers for LU are juniors or seniors, as Joey Holifield leads the way with 16.5 PPG on 56.6% shooting. 
 
History vs. Opponents
Head Coach Kim Elders has been dominant in the WHAC, but Madonna has been one of the teams that have had the most success against him as CU has gone 45-17 against the Crusaders over the last 30 years. The history with Lourdes is much shorter for CU, as they have gone 21-4 all-time against the Gray Wolves.
 
Men's Basketball Contact: Jesse Campbell
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