Feb. 28, 2008

Box Score

River Forest, Ill. - Just over 72 hours after knocking off the MSOE Raiders in the final regular season contest of the season, the Dominican University Stars fell 73-70 to the Raiders in the opening round of the 2008 Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) Men's Basketball Tournament.

Dominican enjoyed a pair of ten points leads in the first half but lead by just three entering halftime, 34-31. The Raiders battled back and claimed their first lead of the game at 53-52 with just over eight minutes to play. The two teams traded baskets over the next four possessions with MSOE claiming the lead for good with seven minutes to play at 57-56. The Raiders extended their lead to as many as six points down the stretch and converted seven of eight trips to the free throw line to preserve the win and advance to the semifinals of the NAC Tournament.

The Stars were led on the night by 6'1" senior guard Jose Garcia (Kenosha, WI) who poured in a season-high 25 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field, including a 5-for-8 performance from three.

Junior Kyle Tipton (Milwaukee, WI) was the only other Dominican University player to score in double-figures, scoring 12 points and grabbing five rebounds in the losing effort. Senior Mike Haiduc (Chicago, IL) fouled out for the second consecutive game, managing just eight points and five rebounds in 19 minutes, just the third time all season that the 6'7" forward played under 20 minutes in a contest.

The Stars close out the season with an overall record of 14-12, going 11-7 in the NAC and finishing the regular season a tie for fourth place with MSOE.