JOLIET, Ill. --- Looking to avenge a close early-season loss to St. Ambrose University on Wednesday afternoon at the Sullivan Center, the University of St. Francis men's basketball team came up just short again as the Fighting Bees remained perfect in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) play with a 63-62 victory.
 

In a matchup featuring two teams receiving votes in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll, St. Ambrose improved to 8-2 overall and 3-0 in league play, while the Saints fell to 8-4 and 1-1.  
 

Both teams began the rematch fighting for advantage as the opening ten minutes featured three ties. But a 16-2 run by St. Ambrose over a six-minute span in which the Saints converted just one field goal in ten attempts, including going 0-for-7 from long range, turned a 21-20 deficit for the guests into a 36-23 lead. The dryspell for USF led to a 31.3 percent shooting mark from the field (10-of-32) for the half, with just three treys in 16 attempts (18.8 percent), resulting in a 39-28 deficit at the break.
 

But as they have done all season long, the Saints would not let a double-digit deficit deter them.  Trailing by as many as 14 points with 13:59 remaining in the contest, head coach Ryan Marks' club went out and matched an earlier 11-0 St. Ambrose run. Carter Fayhee (JR/Macomb, Ill.) would knock down a three-pointer to get the Saints to within three points, 51-48, with 9:43 left in the contest. The hosts would continue their climb back from there, eventually tying the game at 55-all with 5:24 left on a pair of Eric Ting (SR/Taoyuan, Taiwan) free throws. 
 

St. Ambrose responded with the next five points and would never trail again despite the Saints having four different chances in the closing 4:24 to force the fifth tie of the contest. But USF would only get as close as one point twice, 60-59 with 49 seconds to play and on the game's final basket, a Joey Buggemi (JR/Frankfort, Ill.) three-pointer at the buzzer.
 

Buggemi ended the afternoon as the Saints' leading scorer, knocking down 17 points. He also provided four of the nine total three-point field goals for USF, which shot just 35.5 percent from the field (21-of-59) for the game. Deandre Johnson (SR/Watts, Calif.) also finished in double figures in the scoring column. He provided 11 points off the bench and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.  
 

St. Ambrose shot 45 percent from the field (24-of-53) and was once again led by John Kerr, who scored 20 points and hauled in 15 rebounds. The 6-7 senior center finished with 21 points in the first matchup - a 61-56 decision on Dec. 16. Ben Schols and Jake Friel also reached double figures in scoring with 18 and 13 points, respectively.
 

The Saints move forward to Palos Heights on Saturday (Jan. 16) afternoon to take on Trinity Christian College in another CCAC matchup. Tip-off is set for 3 pm.