Second Half Comeback Not Enough For Men’s Basketball

DETROIT, Mich. — The Marygrove College men’s basketball team (2-22; 1-15 WHAC) fell to the Cardinals of Concordia-Ann Arbor (11-13; 8-8 WHAC) Saturday (Feb. 1) by an 85-68 final inside Detroit’s Northwest Activities Center. The Mustangs, down by 15 at halftime, fought back to within four in the second half before Concordia answered with a 10-0 run as the Cardinals went on to win the weekend Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) contest.

While the game didn’t produce the result the Mustangs wanted as a team, there was a bright spot individually as sophomore guard Diante Taylor (Battle Creek, Mich./Central) broke a long-standing Marygrove record with 37 consecutive games of 10-or-more points. Taylor’s streak dates back to a 14-point performance on Jan. 10, 2013 against Siena Heights.

Saturday’s game marked the second time the Mustangs squared off against the Cardinals shorthanded this season as Mustang senior forward Kenny Enoex (Warren, Mich./Fitzgerald) was sidelined for the afternoon due to injury. Despite being without one of their best defensive big men, the Mustangs engaged in an early seesaw battle with the Cardinals eventually finding themselves down four, 22-18, after the game’s opening 10 minutes.

From there, the Cardinals’ John Schaeffer put a bit of distance between the teams with three baskets from the long line to push the visitors out to a 47-32 halftime lead.

The Mustangs came out of the halftime break with a renewed defensive purpose and cut into the 15-point Cardinal lead a mere 6:15 into the latter stanza. A JuJuan Armstrong (Detroit, Mich./UM-Dearborn) bucket in the paint brought the Mustangs to within four, 53-49, with 13:45 remaining in the second half before Concordia pulled away once again. The Cardinals used a quick, two-minute 10-0 run to put away the contest Saturday as the Mustangs went on to drop the game by the 85-68 final.

Junior guard Darryll Dixon (Flint, Mich./Hamady) paced a balanced Mustang attack with a team-high 19 points. Taylor and Xavier Walker (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic) followed closely with 16 each, while Armstrong chipped in with 10 points of his own.

Taylor’s record-breaking day was accompanied by his third double-double of the 2013-14 campaign as the sophomore guard snagged a team-high 12 rebounds to go along with his 16 points.

The Cardinals were led by Schaeffer with 22 on 6-of-8 shooting from downtown.

The Mustangs will hit the road for their next contest with a Wednesday (Feb. 5) contest at Indiana Tech. Tip-off in Fort Wayne, Ind., is slated for 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Follow men’s basketball on twitter: @MGroveMBBALL

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