Pride lose double-digit lead in second half loss to Mount Mercy

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Clarke University men's basketball team were unable to hang on and win after their 14-point second half lead in a 77-68 loss Wednesday evening in the Kehl Center.

Chandler Dean and Daquon Lewis were the story of the first half for the Pride as Dean would start the game a perfect 5-5 from the floor with 15 points. Lewis wasn't far behind, as he would finish the first 20 minutes with 11 points on 5-8 from the floor and swiped two steals. Dean and Lewis would combine for 26 of the Pride's 35 first half points as Biggie Luster was the next highest point scorer with three points.

After leading by three at the half, the Pride would go on an 18-7 run out of the break and build their lead up to 14 points with a 53-39 advantage over a five-minute span.

The Mustangs would rally right back and go on a 19-4 run of their own over the next six minutes of gameplay to give themselves a 58-57 lead for the first time since early in the first half. The Pride wouldn't be able to find an answer the rest of the way as they would only be able to muster three field-goals over the final 9:24 of action in route to the 77-68 loss.

One of the big factors in tonight's game was the free-throw discrepancy as the Mustangs went 29-34 (85.3%), while the Pride shot just 12-19 (63.2%).

Leading all scorers was Mount Mercy Sophomore Cole Hrubes as he would shoot 5-13 (38.5%) from the floor and 9-10 (90%) from the stripe for 22 points. The Mustangs would have four other scorers in double-figures as Jakari Bradley would score nine of his 15 points from the free-throw line. Ryan Bartley was held well under his 19-point average as he would score just 12. Landen Sullivan finished with 10 points on 3-4 (75%) from the floor.

Despite being in foul trouble for most of the second half, Dean was CU's leading scorer with 19 on 6-7 (85.7%) shooting, after his 15 point first half. Lewis would score five in the second half to finish with 16 points on 7-11 (63.6%) shooting. Luster would have the biggest impact in the second half as he scored 11 points for a total of 14 and grabbed six boards.

The Pride men's basketball team will hit the road for two games starting with Park University this Saturday, January 28th at 2:00 pm CST.