MARIETTA, Oh. - La Roche men's basketball opened the 2019-20 season with a nail-biter. First time non-conference opponents, Mount Saint Joseph, bested LRU 72-69 at Day One of the Marietta Shrine Tournament, hosted by Marietta College.

Final: La Roche: 69, MSJ: 72

Records: La Roche (0-1), MSJ (1-2)

Highlights

• LRU and MSJ exchanged blows in the first half; the lead changed 5 times in the first twenty minutes
• Senior Redhawk guard Darius Lawrence (Ambridge, PA/Ambridge) knocked down three, 3-PT field goals in the first half on only four attempts (9 points, 75% 3-PT)
• The Redhawks ended the first half up by a narrow margin of 36-34
• The Lions came out swinging in the second half knocking down three straight 3-PT within the first few minutes
• From that point on, LRU never regained the lead
• The Redhawks brought the game within one when Junior forward Tyler Frederick (Butler, PA/Butler) slammed it home with 24 seconds left on the clock
• A late foul by Lawrence enabled the Lions to make two free throws

Inside the Box Score

• Frederick filled up the stat sheet with 16 points (T-1st on team), 15 rebounds (game-high), 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block
• Three other Redhawks finished in double-digit scoring figures (Darius Lawrence: 16, Austin Hannes:15, Kennedy Smith: 12). Lawerence's 16 points are a new career-high.
• As a unit, the Redhawks shot an efficient 39% from beyond the arc (9-23), but the Crusaders shot an even more impressive 42% and knocked down five more 3-PT (14-33)
• LRU out-rebounded MSJ 44-31 (13-6 on the offensive glass and 31-25 on the defensive glass)
• La Roche knocked down 10 of their 12 free-throw attempts (83%) while Mount Saint Joseph shot 6-15 from the line (40%)
• The Redhawks had more points off turnovers (19-11), more second chance points (11-7) and more points in the paint (26-18) than the Crusaders

NEXT UP: Men's basketball will take on Eastern Mennonite University tomorrow afternoon at 5:00 p.m. in the consolation game of the tournament. 

• Coverage: Live Stats | Video