Men's Basketball fell in the championship game of the 37th Annual Lopata Classic to No. 20 Washington (MO.). After outscoring the Celts in the second half by 15 points, the Bears would squeak out the 59-51 victory.
St. Thomas would have the lead heading into the break after a back and forth half which featured four lead changes. The Celts would open with the ten unanswered points to gain a six-point advantage just five minutes into the period. However, WashU would find their groove offensively and would claw themselves back into the contest. As the half expired, St. Thomas would construct a 9-0 run to regain the lead and shift the pressure to the Bears.
WashU would quickly erase their deficit with back-to-back triples to kick off the action. Both squads would trade buckets for the remainder of the half, but the Bears would attain a three-point lead heading into the final media timeout. St. Thomas would knot the game up at 48 with three minutes left, but WashU would drain timely buckets and inch ahead of the Celts down the stretch.
Christian Alaekwe would post a game-high 15 points while grabbing five rebounds and blocking two shots. Freddie Ricks III would tally 12 points to go with his team-high three assists and two steals.
The Celts return to The JAAC for their last home game of the semester on Wednesday, December 8th against Champion Christian College.
