MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The University of St. Francis men's basketball team sought to put together its second straight win coming into this Saturday's (Feb. 1) Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) matchup with Cardinal Stritch, but the Saints suffered the shooting woes in the all-important second half and fell 70-63 to the Wolves at the CSU Field House.
 

The Saints, who did shoot 41.7 percent (10-24) in the first half, struggled in the final 20 minutes of action as USF made 10-of-30 shot attempts for 33.3 percent en route to a 37 percent (20-54) mark for the game. 
 

USF was led by guard Jarret Gmazel (SR/Manhattan, Ill.)'s game-high 16 points off the bench. The USF senior made five-of-seven attempts from three-point range and split a pair of free throws in 14 minutes of action. Guard Joey Buggemi added 11 points and forward Lewis Holey (JR/Sydney, Australia) tallied 10 points and hauled in a game-best eight rebounds for USF, which presently stands at 8-15 overall and 6-11 in CCAC competition.
 

Top scorers for Cardinal Stritch, who had five players attain double-digit point totals, were Issac Hill and Connor Lemmons with 14 points each. The win was the second straight for the Wolves, who upped their season mark to 10-14 overall and 5-11 in league play.
 

Cardinal Stritch would claim a 35-31 edge at halftime as the host Wolves knocked down 55.2 percent (16-29) of their shots from the field while the Saints converted 41.7 percent (10-24) of their attempts. The first half, which consisted of nine lead changes, saw guard Cole Micek (SR/Los Angeles, Calif.) hit a trey to put USF up 29-28 with 1:46 left before intermission before CSU countered with a three of its own 22 seconds later to lead 31-29. A pair of free throws by guard Eric Ting (JR/Taoyuan, Taiwan) cut a four-point Wolves' lead in half at 33-31 with 25 seconds left.  A CSU basket with just a second left gave the Wolves a four-point advantage at the break.
 

In the second half, USF's suffered the shooting woes by dropping to 33 percent but the Saints were able to stay within striking distance of Cardinal Stritch by nailing 11-of-12 free throws for a 91.7 success rate. On the opposite side, the Wolves managed to make 50 percent (13-26) of their shots and made all eight free throws attempted. 
 

Neither team held more than a six point lead, which CSU did at 51-45 with 9:13 remaining. Six unanswered points by USF followed to pull the Saints into a 51-all tie and an exchange of baskets resulted in two more tie scores, which included a 55-all deadlock with 4:27 showing on the scoreboard clock. A layup by CSU's Gage Malensek near the four-minute mark snapped the tie and provided the Wolves with the lead for the remainder of the game. Holey's basket at the 2:38 mark made it a two-point (59-57) ballgame, but CSU answered with six straight points to take a 63-57 lead with one minute to go. Ting made a pair of free throws for USF to get the Saints within four points at 65-61 with 32 seconds left, but unfortunately weren't able to get any closer as the Wolves scored five of the game's final seven points in the final half minute.  
 

For the game, USF led in second chance points (14-4), bench scoring (28-25), and points off turnovers (12-10) while Cardinal Stritch produced a 44-20 points advantage in inside scoring.
 

Up Next

The Saints will take on the Governor State Jaguars this Wednesday (Feb. 5) in CCAC play at the Sullivan Center in Joliet, Ill. Opening tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (CT).