JOLIET, Ill. - A late surge in the second half by the University of St. Francis men's basketball team propelled the Saints to a 93-75 non-conference home victory over East-West this Saturday (Nov. 30) night in the opening game of the 2019 USF Classic held at USF's Sullivan Center.
 

A balanced scoring performance was turned in by USF in its tourney win as five Saints placed in the double-figure scoring column led by guard Carlos Tovias (JR/Corsicana, Texas)' game-high 19 points off the bench. Guard Cole Micek (SR/Los Angeles, Calif.) finished with 18 points on six-of-seven shooting the floor, which included draining three-of-four three-point field goals and making all three free throws. Guards Malik Bailey (SR/Tutwiler, Miss.) and Jorden Thornton (SR/Hoffman Estates, Ill.) each netted 14 points and guard Eric Ting (JR/Taoyuan, Taiwan) added 12 points.
 

Cole Micek led Saints in rebounding with six boards and forward Mitch Kwasigroch (SR/Manhattan, Ill.) grabbed five caroms as USF was outrebounded by the Phantoms, 48-33, in the contest. East-West was led by Kenneth King's eight rebounds as the Phantoms pulled down 18 boards on the offensive end.
 

The Saints shot 43.1 percent (25-58) from the field and was 10-of-28 in three-point field goals for 35.7 percent. In free throws, USF went to the line 40 times and converted on 33 for a 82.5 percent success rate.  East-West, which received 16 points apiece from Brandon Daughtry and King, made 27-of-65 field goals atttempts for 41.5 percent. The Phantoms connected on 47.4 percent of their three-point tries (9-19) and went 12-of-21 at the free throw stripe for 57.1 percent.
 

USF started out the game on a 13-5 run before the Phantoms knotted the contest up at 13-apiece with 12 minutes left before halftime. East-West would go on to take a three-point lead (24-21) with 7:36 remaining in the first half, but five straight Saints' points put the hosts back out in front 26-24 with 6:36 left in the frame. USF would lead the rest of the way going into halftime with a 36-34 advantage.  
 

The second half, which featured five ties and two lead changes, saw East-West go back on top at 44-39 two minutes into the frame. Two ties would follow and then a third at 55-all with 9:27 left to be played in the game. USF guard-forward Joey Buggemi (SO/Frankfort, Ill.) was fouled on a three-point shot and proceeded to make all three free throws to put the Saints up good at 58-55 with nine minutes to go. A two-point (60-58) USF lead following an East-West trey would balloon to 18 points (80-62) over a four-minute span. The Saints' largest lead of the game at 20 points (84-64) would occur with 3:13 left on the scoreboard as USF would never lead by less than 15 points the rest of the way.
 

The win improved USF's record to 4-2 overall while East-West falls to 5-10 on the season with the loss.
 

Up Next

USF will go up against sixth ranked Dakota Wesleyan, which narrowly defeated Lincoln College (Ill.) 74-70 in Saturday's nightcap, this Sunday (Dec. 1) at 2 p.m. (CT) in second-round 2019 USF Classic action. East-West and Lincoln College will follow at 4 p.m. (CT) in the tournament's final outing.