LIVONIA, Mich.--The magical run through the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference men's basketball championship tournament for Lawrence Tech came to a close on Saturday. Despite a balanced offense, the fifth-seeded Blue Devils fell short in the WHAC Semifinals at No. 1 seed and nationally No. 14-ranked Madonna, 84-78, at the Alliance Catholic Credit Union Arena at the PAAAC.

With a 3-1 record versus the NAIA Top-25 this season, the Blue Devils (20-10 overall) are hopeful for an at-large bid to the national tournament. The final 64-team field and bracket will be announced on Thursday, March 7, at 6 p.m. on the NAIA Youtube Channel. The WHAC regular-season champion Crusaders advance to the conference title game with a 25-5 mark.

Senior Brandon Beavers paced five LTU scorers in double-digits with 22 points, followed by junior Blake Lund with 14 off the bench, senior Alejandro Gonzalez and junior Cameron McEvans both scored 12 and junior Aaron Dolny had 10. Beavers also led the team with eight rebounds and three assists.

Brendan Young led the Crusaders with a double-double for game highs in points (28) and rebounds (10) while making 10 of 15 field goal attempts. Isaac Anderson added 16 points and Matthew MacLellan chipped in 15.

Madonna shot 49.1 percent from the field (28-57) and made two more free throws (21-32) than LTU attempted (17-19). The Crusaders also outscored the Blue Devils, who were 24 for 65 for 36.9 percent from the floor, inside the paint, 40-22.

Madonna jumped out with a 12-3 lead before LTU eventually fought back to take its first lead, 23-22, on a Lund trey with 4 minutes and 53 seconds left in the first half. The teams headed into the intermission tied at 31-all.

In the second half, the teams answered back and forth. Dolny gave LTU its last lead of the game on a pair of free throws with 8:56 to go, 64-62. After that, the Crusaders kept the visitors at bay with no more than a two-possession lead.

The game featured seven ties and 11 lead changes.