JOLIET, Ill. --- Needing a victory to keep its playoff hopes alive, the University of St. Francis men's basketball team received strong play from its bench to gain an 87-68 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference decision over Governors State University on Wednesday (Feb. 5) night at the Sullivan Center. The win moved the Saints to within one-and-one-half game of the final spot in the CCAC Tournament with four games to play.
 

With the exception of one tie at 9-9 in the opening half, the Saints led from start to finish, including 40-30 at the break. Governors State, which currently holds the final tournament berth, pulled to within eight points twice in the second half after falling behind by as many as 15 points before a 19-5 surge put the game out of reach.
 

USF led 58-47 with 11:03 to play when Cole Micek (SR/Los Angeles, Calif.) went off for 14 of his game-high 18 points to propel the Saints (9-15, 7-11 CCAC) to their biggest lead of the night at 77-52 with 6:38 to play.
 

Micek keyed a bench effort that outscored Governors State's starters 43-41 as well as the Jaguars' bench, which produced 27 points. Mitch Kwasigroch (SR/Manhattan, Ill.) added another 11 points, while starter Malik Bailey (SR/Tutwiler, Miss.) registered 13 markers.
 

Five different Saints scored off the bench – including Jarret Gmazel (SR/Manhattan, Ill.) (8 points) - with that contingent shooting 60 percent from the field (15-of-25), including seven three-pointers in 14 attempts. As a team, USF shot 47.1 percent from the field (32-of-68) for the game. Head coach Ryan Marks' club also went 13-of-29 from three-point range (.448) and 10-of-12 from the foul line (.833).
 

DeAndrey Robinson led Governors State (13-11, 8-9) in scoring with 17 points followed by Johnathan Boatright with 12.
 

Up Next

The Saints have a tall task in front of them on Saturday (Feb. 8) when they meet No.4 nationally-ranked and CCAC co-leader Olivet Nazarene (23-2) in Bourbonnais. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. (CT).