ELGIN, Ill.--- A furious second-half comeback effort from the University of St. Francis men's basketball team fell just short on Wednesday evening as Judson University held on for a 70-64 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) victory at the Lindner Fitness Center.
With the win, Judson improved to 3-6 overall and 1-1 in league play, while the Saints fell to 9-5 and 2-2 in the conference.
Lewis Holey (SR/Sydney, Australia) had his best game of the season in Wednesday's contest. The Australian native tallied a team-high and season-best 15 points, aided by being perfect from the field (6-for-6), including a clutch three-pointer late in the game. Joey Bugemi (JR/Frankfort, Ill.) finished with 13 points. Similar to Holey, he was perfect in six shot attempts with his unblemished mark coming at the free throw line. Coming off tying a career-high mark with 17 points on Saturday, Deandre Johson (SR/Watts, Calif.) posted ten points and hauled in five rebounds.
Jordan Johnson led the way for Judson, tying his season high with 23 points. That came in the first meeting against the Saints, an 87-77 USF victory at the Sullivan Center on Dec. 5. Johnny Flynn joined Johnson in double-figures on the night, totaling 18 points and six rebounds.
The Saints found themselves in a 13-point hole at halftime, trailing 39-26. USF was able to answer Judson's early 9-4 scoring run with a 6-0 spurt that would get the Saints within 20-19 with 9:52 remaining in the half. Judson would then go on a 10-2 scoring surge that would give the Eagles a 30-21 lead with 5:40 left before halftime.
Judson's first-half advantage was aided by a 92.9 percent shooting effort from the free throw line (13-of-14). St. Francis finished the first-half without a three-point basket, missing all seven of its attempts from beyond the arc.
Down by as many as sixteen points in the closing 13 minutes, head coach Ryan's Marks' squad began to march its way back into the game. A dunk by E.J Charles (SO/Mokena, Ill.) led to a momentum shift for the Saints in the final ten minutes of play with the guests down by 13 points. Outscoring the Eagles 38-31 in the second half, USF would go on a 7-0 run capped by Holey's three-point field goal to pull to within 66-64 with 52 seconds remaining. With the Saints needing a stop, Johnson was able to draw a foul and put the Eagles back up by two possessions. An offensive foul on the Saints' end on USF's next possession would prove to be the decider as Judson was able to finish off the Saints with two more free throws from Flynn.
The Saints finished the game shooting under 40 percent (39.2 pct., 20-of-51) for just the third time this season. They were even colder beyond the arc, hitting a season-low two treys and shooting a season-low 11.7 percent from that distance. Adding to the frustrating night was a pair of technical fouls assessed against USF.
The Saints return to the Sullivan Center on Sunday (Jan. 24) as they welcome Calumet College of St. Joseph. The contest will be the season debut for the Crimson Wave in 2020-21. Tip-off for the CCAC matchup is scheduled for 3 pm.
