Palos Heights, Ill. --- Forward Deandre Johnson (SR/Watts, Calif)  took advantage of his first start of the season by posting a career-high 17 points and leading the University of St. Francis men's basketball team to a 68-63 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) victory over Trinity Christian College on Saturday afternoon at DeVos Gymnasium.  
 

The win gave the Saints their third straight victory over Trinity Christian as head coach Ryan Marks' team improved to 9-4 overall on the season. It was also their second win in league play against one setback.
 

The guests got off to a fast start offensively, opening the game with a 10-2 scoring advantage after connecting on each of their first five shot attempts. The Saints would eventually go on to shoot 50 percent for the half, a big increase from their 32 percent first-half shooting performance in their 63-62 loss to St. Ambrose University this past Wednesday. 
 

The second of two dunks from forward EJ Charles (SO/Mokena, Ill.) would expand the Saints' lead to 24-12 with 6:32 to play in the half. The 12-point margin proved to be the largest lead of the game for USF. Trinity Christian, however, was able to chip away at the double-digit deficit and trailed by just four points (35-31) at the break.
 

The hosts eventually got over the hump twice in the second half, but the Saints took back control with a 6-0 run to break a 38-38 tie and never trailed again. The Trolls (3-6, 1-3 CCAC) were able to come within two points of tying the contest on two different occasions, but the Saints would counter offensively with clutch shooting each time. With USF up by two points in the final minute, Johnson converted a traditional three-point play that would allow the Saints to leave Palos Heights with the victory. 
 

USF finished the day shooting 49 percent from the floor (25-of-51) and 41 percent from three-point range (5-of-12).
 

To go along with his game-high 17 points, Johnson  also brought in five rebounds and blocked a pair of shots. Carlos Tovias (SR/Corsicana, Texas) was the second-leading scorer for the Saints, ending the afternoon with 10 points. Charles joined Johnson in the starting lineup and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds to go along with scoring six points. They both helped the Saints out-rebound Trinity Christian, 38-26.
 

Also for USF, Reihana Maxwell-Topia (FR/Auckland, New Zealand) came off the bench to tie a season-high mark with his eight points. 
 

Trinity Christian finished this afternoon shooting 40 percent from the floor, including just 3-of-19 from long range. James Pennington and Sterling Brown led their team with 15 points each. Myles Johnson joined the pair in double figures as he finished the afternoon with 12 points.
  

The Saints move on to Elgin as they look to sweep their season series against Judson University this coming Wednesday (Jan 20). USF defeated the Eagles 87-77 at home in their last matchup on Dec. 5.  A 7:30 pm tip-off is scheduled for the CCAC contest.