JOLIET, Ill.- A courageous effort by the University of St. Francis men's basketball team wasn't enough on Tuesday afternoon at the Sullivan Center as the Fighting Saints fell to fifth-ranked Arizona Christian, 82-73, in the first-ever meeting between the two National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) opponents. 
 

Guard Eric Ting (SR/Taoyuan, Taiwan) put in four of his seven shot attempts and knocked down all four of his free-throw attempts to finish tying for team-high scoring honors with 15 points. Joey Buggemi (JR/Frankfort, Ill.) matched that figure as he knocked down five of his nine shot attempts. Buggemi and Ting were joined in double-figure scoring by guard Russell Tillery (SR, Portland, Ore.) who put up 13 points. Tillery, Ting and Buggemi combined for nine of USF's 13 field goals from beyond the arc for the game.  
 

Arizona Christian climbed to 12-1 on the year with its fifth win in a row. The Firestorm's only loss this season has come from NAIA No.1 ranked Indiana Wesleyan. Guard De'Ron Kyle dropped 23 points and was one of three ACU players to score in double figures. Center Robby Wilson was right behind Kyle with 14 points. Guard Angelo Johnson posted a double-double as he finished with 11 points and a game-high 11 assists. 
 

Arizona Christian, which made 50.9 percent of its shots for the game (29 of 57), jumped out of the gates with 12 unanswered points after the Saints opened with a free throw to build a 12-1 lead after the first four minutes. USF would attempt to bounce back from the deficit but was countered by the Firestorm's sharpshooting. The Saints would finish the half converting just 10 of its 26 attempts from the field (38.5 percent) allowing the visitors to take a 45-33 lead into the break. 
 

After being down by a double-digit margin for the majority of the first half, the Saints put together an aggressive second-half comeback. The hosts opened with a 9-5 scoring advantage that would leave them trailing by eight points (50-42) with 17:21 to play. It marked the first time the Saints were down by a single-digit margin since the 15:58 mark in the first half. 
 

They then managed to cut that deficit in half again down to four points at 62-58 with 9:47 remaining on the scoreboard following a Carlos Tovias (SR/Corsicana, Texas) three-point field goal. The Firestorm countered with a three of its own from guard De'Ron Kyle. The Saints cut the lead to four two more times after that only to be countered both times on the visitor's next possessions. ACU would eventually use a closing 9-4 run to gain the nine-point victory. 
 

Deandre Johnson (SR/Watts, Calif.) and Carter Fayhee (JR/Macomb, Ill) would both lead the team in rebounding with five boards apiece as the Saints were outrebounded by Arizona Christian, 36-31. Tillery provided a team-leading five assists with Nadav Gerner (FR/Ganei Tikva, Israel) recording two of the Saints' six steals.
 

USF, which outscored the Firestorm 72-70 after the opening outburst, wrapped up the day making 24-of-55 field goal attempts for 43 percent. The Saints knocked down 11-of-23 treys for 52 percent and shot 60 percent from the charity stripe (14-of-23). 
 

Up Next

USF (7-3) steps back on the floor Saturday (Jan 9) when it visits the Judson University Eagles in Elgin. This is the second meeting between the two Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) rivals this season. In the first meeting, the Saints edged out the Eagles 87-77 in a non-conference game at the Sullivan Center.
 

A 3 p.m. start time is scheduled for the league opener for the Saints at Judson's Linder Court.