Racers Advance in WHAC Tournament with Quarterfinal Upset at Lourdes

SYLVANIA, OH - UNOH men's basketball had to overcome a seven-point halftime deficit in the WHAC Quarterfinals but controlled the late portions of the second half and took the WHAC's No. 2 seed Lourdes into overtime. The Racers did enough to hold off the Gray Wolves in the extra period stealing a 96-94 win to earn a place in the WHAC Semifinals for the first time since 2015.

Lourdes opened up an 8-0 advantage over the seventh-seed Racers to start the night but UNOH pulled it back tight with a 9-2 run over the next three minutes. The next five produced two ties and four lead changes before an 11-0 Gray Wolves spurt put them up by eight with seven minutes left in the first half. Lourdes pushed the lead up their largest of the game, 45-32, just a couple minutes before the halftime break but outscored them 9-3 going into the break to trail by eight.

The Gray Wolves paced the first six minutes of the second holding a twelve-point cushion with 13:41 to play. The largest run of the game for either team developed over the next five minutes of game time and it weighed heavily in favor of UNOH, 14-3, shaving the deficit to just one at the 8:13 mark. It took almost two more minutes for the Racers to finally edge in front, 74-73, and the showdown was on. The final six minutes of regulation produced five ties and five lead changes with Lourdes getting the tying bucket with 34 ticks remaining. UNOH held to try to take the final shot of the game but instead a late turnover with just a few seconds on the clock created a quick transition chance for the WHAC's scorer to win the game. Caleb Chapman didn't give up on the play and came out a hero as he streaked back and blocked the game winning layup from behind at the buzzer to force overtime.

The Racers scored the first three points of the extra frame and didn't surrender the lead again. Despite another late turnover and a split of two free throws, UNOH did enough to hold off the Gray Wolves and earn their place in the semifinals.

Alex Benson finished as the team's leading scorer off the bench posting a season high 23 points on 10-19 (53%) shooting from the field. Ryan Archey scored 21 despite a tough shooting night (40%) pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out four assists. Caleb Chapman logged his fourth consecutive double-digit scoring performance off the bench ending the night with 18 points on 7-10 (70%) shooting while grabbing a team high nine boards.

The glass belonged to the Racers all night as they racked up 51 total rebounds, the most in the Westernlund Era, while giving up 37. Twenty-one of the 51 came on the offensive end of the court helping UNOH to 32 second chance points to just eleven for Lourdes.

The opposite quarterfinal matchup went to third-seed Cornerstone winning 95-82 over Rochester Christian. UNOH will now look to win their third game in five days when they head to Grand Rapids, Mich. to face the Golden Eagles Saturday, March 1 for a trip to the WHAC Championship.