Published: November 19, 2008 09:40 am      

Ashford rally falls a bit short

MILWAUKEE — Ashford put up a furious second-half rally Tuesday night, but it couldn’t overcome a huge first-half deficit as Cardinal Stritch held on for a 99-90 victory in college men’s basketball.

A 3-point basket by Kody Braddix broke a 2-2 tie and started an 8-0 run that put the Wolves ahead to stay. Braddix hit another 3-pointer with 11 minutes, 28 seconds, left in the first half that started a 24-10 run that gave the Wolves (4-1) their largest lead of the half, 44-20.

Braddix (16 points) was one of four Cardinal Stritch starters to score in double digits, joining Brandon D’Amico (20 points), Trey Triplett (19) and Milutin Mirjacic (16).

The Saints (3-3), who trailed 52-30 at the half, chipped away at the lead throughout the second half as their shooting percentage improved from 28.9 percent to 42.5. They also went 20-for-22 from the free-throw line, much better than the 6-for-8 performance in the first half.

Byron Emerson, who led Ashford with 26 points, started the comeback with a 3-point basket to open the second half. The Saints got within 68-53 on a 3-pointer from Tim DePaoli before Cardinal Stritch pushed the lead back to 24, helped by a pair of technical fouls on the Ashford bench in a span of 10 seconds that resulted in six points.

Ashford still trailed 80-59 before Emerson started the furious comeback with a pair of free throws with 7:37 remaining. The Saints outscored the Wolves 21-6 over the next 41⁄2 minutes and got within 86-80 when Jonathan Wyatt (11 points) nailed a 3-point basket with 3:02 left.

A 3-pointer by D’Amico and a free throw from Mirjacic pushed the lead back to 10. It eventually reached 95-83 before Ashford made a final push with a 7-1 run but couldn’t get closer than six.

CARDINAL STRITCH 99, ASHFORD 90

ASHFORD (3-3) — Josh Pickens 2-8 0-0 6, Daniel Joiner 3-13 8-8 14, Byron Emerson 7-10 9-10 26, Matthias Burns 3-14 2-3 8, Peter Tanzillo 3-8 1-2 7, Rashad Carrington 2-6 1-1 5, Tim DePaoli 2-3 2-2 7, Ryan Logan 1-2 0-0 2, Klynton Bollinger 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 28-78 26-30 90.

CARDINAL STRITCH (4-1) — Kody Braddix 4-7 5-6 16, Pat Barron 2-3 3-4 9, Brandon D’Amico 7-16 4-6 20, Trey Triplett 9-15 1-2 19, Milutin Mirjacic 4-11 8-12 16, Levette Nash 0-0 0-0 0, Chris Mayeaux 0-1 0-0 0, T. Petsch-Horvath 0-2 0-0 0, Richard Galewski 0-0 0-0 0, Ian Dobbe 3-4 0-0 6, Andre Kennedy 0-0 1-2 1, Navjot Singh 1-5 1-3 4, Derek Woelffer 0-0 0-0 0, Dustin Dean 4-4 0-1 8. Totals 34-68 23-36 99.

Halftime — Cardinal Stritch 52, Ashford 30. 3-point goals — Ashford 8-29 (Emerson 3-4, Pickens 2-7, Wyatt 2-8, DePaoli 1-1, Carrington 0-2, Burns 0-2, Joiner 0-5); Cardinal Stritch 8-21 (Braddix 3-5, Barron 2-3, D’Amico 2-7, Singh 1-3, Dobbe 0-1, Petsch-Horvath 0-2). Total fouls — Ashford 24; Cardinal Stritch 22. Fouled out — Burns. Technical fouls — Ashford bench, Ashford coach. Rebounds — Ashford 51 (Burns 10, Tanzillo 9); Cardinal Stritch 50 (Dean 7). Assists — Ashford 10 (Emerson 3); Cardinal Stritch 22 (D’Amico 6). Steals — Ashford 9 (Burns 3); Cardinal Stritch 10 (Mirjacic 4). Blocked shots — Cardinal Stritch 4 (Four players with 1). Turnovers — Ashford 18 (Three players with 4); Cardinal Stritch 20 (Barron 5).