DEERFIELD, Ill.--- A career afternoon for forward Deandre Johnson (SR/Watts, Calif.) lifted the University of St. Francis men's basketball team to a tight 69-68 victory over Trinity International University on Saturday afternoon at Van Dixhorn Arena.
With two games remaining in the season, the victory pushes the Saints' record to 12-9 overall and 4-6 in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) play. Trinity International fell to 8-6 overall this season with a record of 4-6 in league action.
Johnson was a force in the paint all afternoon. He finished with a career-high 18 points making seven of his eight shot attempts from the floor. The team leader in rebounding on the season, he also contributed on the glass with six rebounds.
Leading the way Saturday in the rebounding department was EJ Charles (SO/Mokena, Ill.), who tied his season-high mark, grabbing eight boards and providing 11 points.
For the third straight game, Carlos Tovias (Corsicana, Texas) finished in double-figure scoring. The senior netted 14 points and made four of his six shot attempts from beyond the arc. Tovias is currently averaging 15 points per game over the last three contests.
After falling behind 6-0 at the start, the Saints countered with a 10-3 run to take a 10-9 lead with 13:04 left in the half. The rest of the first half became a see-saw affair that featured three lead changes. By halftime, the Saints were able to walk into the locker room with a 29-28 lead.
USF would open the second half with an 18-8 scoring advantage to give the visitors a 47-36 lead. The 11-point advantage would be the largest one of the afternoon for head coach Ryan Marks' team.
Trinity International would counter with its own 14-2 run to regain the lead at 50-49 with 10:52 remaining in the contest. From that point on, the game saw two ties and four lead changes with a Johnson basket producing the final tie at 64-all with 2:45 to play.
After several failed attempts to take the lead by both teams, Johnson drew a foul and knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Saints a 66-64 lead with 70 seconds left. Needing a defensive stop, Charles blocked a layup attempt by the Trojans with 41 seconds left on the clock and Russell Tillery (SR/Portland, Ore.) provided a layup with 15 seconds remaining to build the advantage up to four points.
Trinity International nearly got all four of those points back the next time down the court, hitting the front end of a two-shot foul and then getting a rebound on the second attempt. But the Trojans came up short on a potential game-tying three-pointer with Johnson snaring the rebound and the eventual win for the Saints after sinking one final free throw.
The Trojans were led by Brandon Lawani, who finished the game with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Diamond Presniakovas also recorded double figures with 16 points.
The Saints will play their final home game of the 2020-21 regular season against Saint Xavier University on Wednesday (Feb 17). Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm at the Sullivan Center.
