CHICAGO --- Behind four players scoring in double figures, the University of St. Francis men's basketball team earned its third straight victory Wednesday night defeating Roosevelt University 78-60 in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup at the Goodman Center.

Carlos Tovias and Joey Buggemi tied for game-high scoring honors with 15 points each with ten of Buggemi's points coming at the free throw line in 11 attempts. Russell Tillery also was solid at the free throw line going 7-for-8 as part of a 13-point night for him. Both Buggemi and Tillery also supplied four assists each.    

EJ Charles provided a double-double, as well, with his 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Lewis Holey contributed another eight boards and six points. That helped the Saints (4-1, 3-1 CCAC) gain a 45-34 advantage in rebounding for the contest.

Both teams struggled out of the gate in finding their shots, especially from beyond the three-point arc with the Saints going 2-for-13 and Roosevelt hitting just one of its 11 attempts. Overall, the Saints converted at a .321 clip from the field (9-of-28) in the opening 20 minutes with Roosevelt going 7-for-24 (.292). USF used that slight advantage to go into the break leading 30-20.

The Saints opened the second half hitting four of their first seven shots to open the biggest advantage up to that point at 41-24 only to have Roosevelt (4-3, 2-2) work the deficit back to six points (47-41) with just under nine minutes remaining in the contest. That is when USF finally took control of the game for good, putting together a 22-4 run to go up 69-45 on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 accuracy at the foul line.

Both team shot identical from the field after the break, going 13-for-28 with three treys each. USF gained its eight-point scoring advantage for the half at the foul line, where it went 19-of-25 compared to Roosevelt's 11-of-19 mark.

Up Next
Wednesday's contest was the first of three over a five-day stretch for the Saints, who host Mid-America Nazarene University (Kan.) on Saturday at 6 pm to start play in the St. Francis Thanksgiving Classic.

Live coverage can be found at gofightingsaints.com/coverage. You can also keep up with all things USF on Twitter @USFSaints.