Luster leads the way in Pride's second-straight win
DUBUQUE, Iowa - In a matchup between team at opposite ends of the Heart of America Athletic Conference standings, the Clarke University men's basketball team earned a 65-61 win over Graceland University on Wednesday night.
In a game that was close the entire way, neither team held a lead of a double-digit margin with CU's largest lead being nine late in the first half and the Yellowjackets largest lead coming from their 6-0 start in the first two minutes of the game.
Following buckets from Aleksa Markovic and Carson Busch, Graceland would hold a slim lead over the next four mintues a 14-0 run from the Pride that would see Daquon Lewis score nine of those points and 11 of CU's first 16 points would jump Clarke up to a 16-8 lead and forcing a Graceland timeout with just over 13 minutes remaining in the half.
That lead would remaing for just about 23 minutes of game time when back-to-back three pointers from Graceland would tie then give them their first lead since the 15-minute mark in the first half at 49-46 with over 10 minutes remaining.
Clarke would tie then eventually take the lead back on back-to-back Chris Burnell jump shots at a 51-50 lead with just under seven minutes remaining as that would be the lead that the Pride would never relinquish, thanks in large part to their free throw shooting as Biggie Luster hit six over that stretch while Jake Layman, Lewis, and Burnell each hit a pair of their own to help seal the game late.
Luster led all players with 23 points on 7-of-11 (63.6%) shooting from the field while hitting 3-of-6 (50%) three pointers as he grabbed 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season while also adding three steals and three blocked shots, the biggest block coming with 29 seconds left on an Austin Braun layup attempt as Lewis would grab the rebound, get fouled and make it a five-point Clarke lead with 26 seconds left.
Lewis finished with 13 points as the only other member of the Pride in double figures while adding seven rebounds as Layman scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds while adding four assists and three steals.
Graceland had three players in double figures led byu Markovic's 15 points as he had a double-double of his own with a game-high 15 rebounds while Busch added 13 points and Carter Brown scored 11 points off the bench but committed a costly technical foul after fouling out with four second left, allowing the Pride to shoot four free throws with a one-point lead at 62-61 as Luster and Burnell combined to go 3-for-4 to give CU a four-point lead.
The Pride will get back on the road after playing three-straight at home since last Saturday when they head to Olathe, Kan. for a Saturday afternoon matchup against MidAmerica Nazarene University for a 2:00 p.m. scheduled tip against the Pioneers.