JOLIET, Ill. --- The University of St. Francis men's basketball team rallied from a 12-point deficit in the opening half and nearly did the same after the break before dropping an eventual 84-77 non-conference decision to Madonna University at the Pat Sullivan Center on Thursday afternoon. 

Coming off an extended break of 14 days, the Saints (7-5) used 12 three-pointers to offset a strong inside presence by Madonna – 54 points in the paint – as well as an off overall shooting afternoon by the hosts to keep the game tight. USF managed a better shooting percentage from beyond the arc (. 400, 12-of-30) than it did both overall (.364, 24-of-66) and from two-point range (.333, 12-of-36), while the Crusaders connected on 57.4 percent of their attempts overall (35-of-61).

A 12-4 run out of the gates followed later by a 12-5 push propelled Madonna (10-6) to its biggest lead of the opening half at 26-14 with 6:38 to play. The Crusaders still led by 11 points at the four minute mark before the Saints caught fire from outside to close the half. 

After making just one of its first 11 shots from long range, St. Francis connected five straight times from that distance to tie the contest at 36-all via a 17-7 burst. Joey Buggemi provided the first two treys with EJ Charles, Lewis Holey (8 rebounds), and Darius Wright following suit.

The Saints thought Wright's trey with five seconds left would result in the deadlock going into the break only to have Noah Campbell dash those hopes with a half court basket at the buzzer to give Madonna a 39-36 edge. The Crusaders used that momentum to spark a 10-2 run to open the second half and put them back up by double digits at 49-38.   
That, however, did not deter USF. Fueled by six points from Russell Tillery (13 points, 3 steals) and another five from Wright, the Saints went on their second big run of the game, this time a 14-4 push, that got them to within 53-52 with 12:16 to play.

Yet that would be the closest St. Francis would get to derailing Madonna. The Crusaders would maintain a single digit advantage the rest of the way with the Saints only getting as close as 65-62 at the 6:50 mark and 76-72 with 4:13 to play.

All five of Madonna's starters scored in double figures, going a combined 31-for-48 from the field (.646). Mark Mettie led the way with 26 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Graham was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and finished with 13 markers.

Buggemi tallied a team high 18 points as well as a career high eight rebounds for the Saints. Charles just missed a double double with his 17 points and nine boards, while Wright came off the bench to total 16 points and a team best four three pointers.

Up Next
The Saints are right back at it Friday closing out 2021 with a 1 pm tip off against University of Michigan-Dearborn.

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