ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.--- With Roosevelt University harboring a 79-78 lead with five seconds remaining on Friday night, University of St. Francis men's basketball guard Carlos Tovais (SR/Corsicana, Texas) knocked down a pair of clutch free throws to propel the Saints to an 80-79 victory to close out the regular season.
 

The win improves the Saints' record to 14-9 overall, ending the 2020-21 regular season carrying a three-game winning streak, including two wins in as many days. The 2020-21 Saints were also able to finish the season with four more wins than one year ago when they went 10-18. The victory also evened out USF's Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) record at 6-6.
 

Four players finished in double figures for USF. Deandre Johnson (SR/Watts, Calif.) led the team with 15 points. It was his fourth straight game in double figures and he has averaged 15.0 points per contest during the winning streak. EJ Charles (So./Mokena, Ill.) ended his day perfect, making all five of his field-goal attempts to finished with 13 points. 
 

Russell Tillery (SR/Portland, Ore.) once again provided 10 points and a game-high five assists, which nearly replicated his stat line from Thursday's 82-78 win over Saint Xavier University. Lewis Holey (SR/Sydney, Australia) added 10 points off the bench.
 

The Saints held the lead for much of the first half and shot an efficient 55.2 percent from the floor. Much of the scoring came from Johnson, Charles, and Holey, all of whom dominated in the paint and combine for 26 of the Saints' 41 total first-half points. Roosevelt only saw the lead one time in the first half as the Saints went into the break holding a 41-39 edge.
 

Despite taking the lead at the 17:27 mark of the second half, the Lakers (2-5, 2-5 CCAC) were unable to pull away from the Saints. Roosevelt held the lead for just over a seven-minute stretch, but could not go up by more than two possessions. A three-point field goal from Reihana Maxwell-Topia (FR/Auckland, New Zealand) would allow the Saints to go back on top at 64-61 with 10:23 to play.  
 

USF extended that margin to 76-70 at the 4:44 mark only to have Roosevelt go on a 9-2 run over a three-minute span to retake the lead at 79-78 with 71 seconds left in the contest. After a key defensive stop and a timeout from head coach Ryan Marks, Tovais was able to draw a foul and sink the two free throws to give the Saints an 80-79 lead with five seconds remaining. USF then forced Roosevelt's Kelvin Cortez-Harvey into a tough three-point shot that would hit off the rim and seal the St. Francis victory.
 

Cortez-Harvey scored a game-high 21 points for the Lakers. Ayomide Ajiboye added 14 points off the bench, while Jarod Stonis and Josh Redic contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively.
 

Up next for the Saints is a return to the CCAC Tournament after missing out one year ago, one season after knocking off three straight higher-seeded teams to claim the 2018-19 league post-season title. Pairings will be announced Sunday night with USF most likely to host an opening-round game on Tuesday (Feb. 23). The 15-team tournament runs through March 1.