GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Cornerstone traveled down the road to face off against their conference rival in Aquinas. Riding an 11-game win streak against the Saints, Cornerstone was looking to make it 12. It didn't go as Cornerstone planned as they fell behind early in the first half and had to play catchup the entire game. When they were finally able to grab the lead in the second half, it vanished instantly as Aquinas responded with runs that the Golden Eagles couldn't respond too. Cornerstone had every opportunity to win this game but was not able too as they struggled from the three-point line and free throw line. As those were the difference makers in the game. Cornerstone will look to rebound from this loss as they return home on Wednesday, January 11 as they take on Lawrence Tech. 

Game Highlights
• First Half
    o It was all Aquinas to start this game as they went on a quick 11-2 run to open the first half drilling three-threes to give themselves a comfortable early lead.
    o Aquinas continued to make everything as they got up to 17-5 before Eli Steffen would make the first three of the game for the Golden Eagles, as Steffen would have all eight     points for Cornerstone. 
    o Cornerstone would storm back going on a 12-3 run to tie the game at 20-20 with 9:49 remaining in the first half. Zac Velthouse had a nice lay in for the Golden Eagles.
    o Just like that, Aquinas would go on another little run to take the 26-20 advantage before Mason Brooks took over as he nailed back-to-back threes for the Golden Eagles to     knot it back up at 26-26 with 7:22 remaining.
    o Aquinas and Cornerstone were finding easy baskets throughout the first half as Aquinas would continue to use runs to their advantage getting up 40-33 with two minutes     remaining in the half.
    o Cornerstone would score the final three points as it was not a pretty half of basketball for the Golden Eagles as they were down 40-36 at halftime. Cornerstone struggled to find     easy baskets as Aquinas's defense was disrupting the flow of the offense. 
• Second Half 
    o It was a slower start to the second half for Aquinas as they had trouble scoring. Cornerstone took advantage of it and used the first five minutes to use a 9-5 run to tie at 45-45     with 14:55 remaining in the second half.
    o At the 10:48 mark in the second half, Cornerstone took their first lead of the game as Mason Brooks continued his great game by scoring an and-one layup and making the     free throw, making it a 52-50 game.
    o Aquinas answered 20 seconds later draining a three pointer to give them the lead back, but Zac Velthouse responded again draining a three to give Cornerstone the lead back     55-53.
    o Cornerstone would grab their biggest lead of the game after Carter Nyp hit an and-one three pointer as he made the free throw making it 59-55 with 8:48 remaining in the     second half. 
    o Aquinas used the next two minutes to go on a 6-0 run retake the lead 61-59.
    o Cornerstone and Aquinas would continue to trade baskets back-and-forth before Cornerstone got stuck on 67 points while Aquinas went on a run that saw their lead extend to     seven, 74-67 with two minutes remaining in the game.
    o Cornerstone was not able to recover from that Aquinas run as they would end up losing 76-74 as they struggled to make free throws down the stretch. 

By the Numbers
18/8 – Carter Nyp led the way with an 18-point eight rebound game
13 – Mason Brooks set a new career high with 13 points in 13 minutes of action
24% - Cornerstone shot 24% from behind the arc as Aquinas shot 44.4%
16/28 – Cornerstone missed 12 free throws as they went 16-28 from the charity stripe. 

What's Next?
Cornerstone returns home to face off against Lawrence Tech on Wednesday, January 11 for 7:30 p.m. tipoff to finish the first half of conference play. 

Men's Basketball Contact: Jesse Campbell
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