Nov. 19, 2007

River Forest, Ill. - The Dominican University men's basketball team split a pair of games in the First Annual River Forest Classic last weekend to open the 2007-2008 season. On Friday night, the Stars fell to Lawrence University 87-72 at Dominican University.

The Stars trailed by just seven at the break 45-38, behind 14 first-half points from junior Dan Borys (Crown Point, IN) and 10 points from senior Mike Haiduc (Chicago, IL). The Stars then cut into the Lawrence lead over the first six minutes of the second half, pulling to within three on a layup by Jose Garcia (Kenosha, WI) with just under 13 minutes to play. However, the Stars couldn't get any closer as Lawrence extended its lead to as many as 21 with under three minutes to play.

Haiduc lead all scorers with 18 points on the game, going 7-for-15 from the field and 3-for-3 from the foul line, while Borys finished the game with 14 points and five rebounds. Jose Garcia was the only other player to reach double-digits for the Stars, chipping in 10 points in the losing effort.

The Stars the bounced back with a 58-52 overtime victory over the St. Norbert College Green Knights. With St. Norbert ahead by three, Haiduc nailed a three-pointer with five seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime. The Stars then outscored St. Norbert 11-5 in the extra frame to escape the weekend with a 1-1 mark.

Haiduc again paced all scorers with 18 points and grabbed a career-high and game-high 18 rebounds in the process, including 17 rebounds on the defensive end.

Dominican returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Illinois Wesleyan University for a 3:00 p.m. game in the Titan's Shirk Center.