WHITING, Ind. - The University of St. Francis men's basketball team earned a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) road win this Saturday (Jan. 4) as the Saints prevailed 81-71 over Calumet St. Joseph at CCSJ's Rettenmeyer Center to avenge an early season loss to the Crimson Wave.
USF relied upon a balanced scoring attack in its victory as nine players netted at least a point with 14 points from guard Cole Micek (SR/Los Angeles, Calif.) leading the Saints, who are now 6-9 overall and 4-5 in the CCAC. Guard Eric Ting (JR/Taoyuan, Taiwan) and forward Mitch Kwasigroch (SR/Manhattan, Ill.) also scored in double digits with 13 points apiece while guards Malik Bailey (SR/Tutwiler, Miss.) and Jarret Gmazel (SR/Manhattan, Ill.) each contributed nine points.
The Saints had suffered a 68-66 league setback to the Crimson Wave earlier this season (Nov. 13) on USF's home court.
Calumet St. Joseph was led by Keenan Bellaphant's game-high 17 points off the bench as four Crimson Wave players registered double-figure points for the game. CCSJ, which fell to 3-13 overall and 2-6 in the CCAC with the loss, was outrebounded by the Saints 34-26 as USF's Bailey garnered a game-best nine boards. Bailey was supported by forward Lewis Holey (JR/Sydney, Australia)'s eight rebounds. For CCSJ, Bellaphant and Germaine Roebuck, who poured in 16 points, each pulled down a squad-most eight rebounds.
The contest opened with USF taking a 15-6 lead and then surged to a 31-18 advantage at the 3:20 mark on a basket by guard Carlos Tovias (JR/Corsicana, Texas). With a minute remaining in the first half, Gmazel knocked down a triple to make it 39-22 as the Saints would go into the lockerroom at the break leading 39-24.
USF appeared to have the game's outcome well in hand in the second half as the Saints started out with a 19-9 scoring run over a six-minute plus span to lead 58-33 following a Tovias three-pointer with 13:22 left in the contest. The Saints bumped up their lead to 62-33 on a Kwasigroch jumper with 11:37 remaining before the Crimson Wave answered with a 13-4 scoring spurt to close the gap to 66-46 at the eight-minute mark. Trailing 73-59 with three minutes to go, CCSJ outscored USF 9-2 in the next two-plus minutes to get within 77-71 on Dylan Hill's third three-point field goal of the game. The Crimson Wave then were forced to foul and the Saints capitalized on the opportunity as Bailey made three free throws in the next half minute to give the visitors an 80-71 lead with 32 seconds remaining. CCSJ then missed a three attempt and guard Ting swished the back end of a two-shot free throw situation after being fouled to wrap up the scoring.
The Saints shot 49.1 percent (26-53) from the field, made 10 of 21 three-pointers for 47.6 percent, and netted 19 of 23 free throws for an 82.6 percent efficiency mark. USF dished out 11 assists to CCSJ's 13 total while the Crimson Wave claimed a 26-14 advantage in points in the paint along with a 20-17 lead in points off turnovers. The Saints ended up outscoring CCSJ 13-7 in second-chance points output.
Up Next
The Saints host the Roosevelt Lakers Wednesday, Jan. 8, to start a two-game CCAC homestand. A 7 p.m. (CT) start time is slated for the matchup at USF's Sullivan Center in Joliet, Ill.
