'Cats season ends with first round loss

Johnson & Wales exited the NAIA National Tournament in the first round following their 69-100 loss to Cornerstone University on Thursday morning. The 'Cats started the game strong holding the Golden Eagles 15 of 33 shooting from the floor in the half. The two sides kept one another in check in the early minutes with a tied game at 15. Cornerstone used a scoring run to take the game 43-31 into the break.

Coming out of the break, the Wildcats went cold shooting just .290 and missing easy layups. The Golden Eagles pushed the 'Cats and forced turnovers that resulted in 13 points. Wes Hudson energized his side with 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and Cornerstone exploded offensively. Matt Fisher did his best to keep JWU competitive finishing the game with his fifth foul late in the second half, exiting with a game high 22 points.

The #3 Golden Eagles easily advanced to the second round with the win and sent JWU home with a 14-15 season record.

Nick Maly added 12 points in addition to Fisher's 22. Freshmen Aaron Marshall contributed another 11 for the Wildcats. Maly also had a team high five boards for the 'Cats. Hudson had 20 points off the bench to lead the Golden Eagles and Caleb Simons had a game high 9 rebounds.