CHICAGO, Ill. -  The University of St. Francis men's basketball team closed out its 2019-20 season this Wednesday (Feb. 19) night with a 90-69 loss to Saint Xavier in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) action at SXU's Shannon Center.
 

The Saints conclude the season with a 10-18 overall record, which included an 8-13 mark in CCAC play. With the win, Saint Xavier improved to 19-9 overall and 14-7 in the conference.
 

Leading USF offensively was guards Malik Bailey (SR/Tutwiler, Miss.) and Cole Micek (SR/Los Angeles, Calif.) with 16 and 12 points, respectively in their final appearances. Guard Jorden Thornton (SR/Hoffman Estates, Ill.) contributed eight points and guard Eric Ting (JR/Taoyuan, Taiwan) came off the Saints' bench to score seven points. For SXU, Joshua Evans' netted a game-high 21 points to lead four Cougars in double-figure scoring. Jack Brody and Josh Niego each poured in 16 points and Jack Halverson tallied 14 points.
 

In rebounding, SXU totaled 42 boards to USF's 35-game output. Malik Bailey pulled down a game-leading eight rebounds while Cole Micek grabbed seven caroms and forward Mitch Kwasigroch (SR/Manhattan, Ill.) notched six boards. SXU was paced by Josh Niego's seven rebounds.
 

The contest was a one-point game through the first five-plus minutes before a 16-3 SXU run put the Cougars up by 14 points at 28-14 with 7:32 remaining in the opening half.  SXU would go on lead at the half 47-32.
 

Thru the first two minutes of the second half, the Cougars managed to maintain their 15-point cushion and then would go on a 16-11 spurt to take a 66-46 lead at the 10-minute mark. SXU kept its double-digit lead the next six minutes as the Cougars held an 80-60 advantage at the 4:26 mark. The game's final three minutes saw both teams tally seven points apiece to account for the final margin.  
 

The Saints finished the night shooting 35.4 percent (23-65) from the field and were 22.6 percent (7-31) from three-point field goal range. USF would go 16-for-21 at the free throw line for 76.2 percent. Saint Xavier made 55.4 percent (36-65) of its shot attempts although just four-of-22 in three-pointers for 18.2 percent. At the free throw stripe, the Cougars made 70 percent by connecting on 14-of-20 opportunities.  
 

SXU forced the Saints into 16 turnovers and outscored USF 25-8 in points off turnovers. The Cougars also claimed a 52-26 advantage in points in the paint and a 10-points margin (31-210 in bench scoring.