Men's Basketball drop Valentine's Day game to Judson

On Valentine's Day, the Crimson Wave Men's Basketball team traveled to Judson University to take on the Eagles in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup. Malik Miller carried much of the love in the Valentine's matchup, leading the team in the scorebook with 12 total points just ahead of Wyatt Hughes and Noel Mpie's 9 total points. Although a close game, the Wave fell short in the matchup with a score of 59-70.

At the start of the competition, the Crimson Wave's came out fighting. The Wave kept the Eagles off of the scoreboard for the first 5 minutes of the matchup, gaining a 4-0 lead. Halfway through the first half, the Eagles had regained some momentum and were able to tie the ball game up. The Eagles were able to push past the Wave for their first lead of the game with 9 minutes left in the first half. For much of the half, the Wave ran along side the Eagles. With 6:43 left in the half, a strong 3-pointer from Lawrence Pointer puts the Wave back in the driver's seat of the competition. This did not last long; a couple of field goals in a minute's time gave the Eagles a one-point lead. Malik Miller answered with a hook shot underneath the basket with 5 minutes counting down in the half to work momentum for the Wave. The matchup remained tight with back-and-forth lead changes up and down the floor. In the final minutes of the half, the Wave was unable to find the basket and a few turnovers put the momentum and a 33-20 lead in the lap of the Judson Eagles going into the half.

It was the Wave's ball to start the second half, they were unable to capitalize on their first possession of the half but in their second possession of the half Oshawn Lee got the scoring going for the Wave going 1 of 2 at the free-throw line. The Wave was unable to close the score deficit to the Eagles for much of the half. With 11:45 left in the competition, Wyatt Hughes shot 2 for 2 at the free-throw line bringing the Wave within 10 of the Eagles lead. Unable to get the momentum going, halfway through the second half the Eagles held a strong lead of 49-35. With 6:25 counting down on the game clock, Malik Miller drove to the basket putting the Crimson Wave within 7 of the Eagles lead with a score of 51-44. The Waves pick up momentum following a 3-point field goal by Travis McBride that brought the Wave within 6 of the lead, Miller earned a steal on the other end of the floor and a finish and field goal by Na'shawn Howze put the Crimson Wave in a 3-point ball game with 5:10 counting from the game clock. Despite the momentum, the Eagles were able to push to maintain and extend the lead there in the last three minutes of action. Despite strong drives and contention by the Crimson Wave Men, the Waves fall in the CCAC matchup 59-70.

The leading scorers in the Wave's fight were Malik Miller with 12 total points, 3 steals and 3 rebounds, Noel Mpie with 9 points and 5 rebounds, Wyatt Hughes with 9 points, 1 assist and 2 rebounds, and Lawrence Pointer with 8 points, 3 steals and 1 rebound. The Wave shot 32.3% in total field goal percentage, 14.8% in 3-point field goal percentages, and 76.5% at the free-throw line in the competition.

The February 14^th conference loss moves the team to 5-18 on the season and 4-17 in the CCAC.