JOLIET, Ill.--- The University of St. Francis men's basketball team fell just short of rallying from a 17-point deficit Wednesday night in dropping a 77-73 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) decision to Governors State University at the Sullivan Center.
The win in the league matchup bumped the Jaguars record up to 5-8 on the season and gave them their third win in five CCAC contests. The Saints fell to 11-7 overall and 3-4 in CCAC play.
Four Saints scored in double figures with guard Joey Buggemi (JR/Frankfort, Ill.) leading the way with his fourth 17-point game of the season. He knocked down three of his six attempted three-point field goals and 4-of-5 attempted free throws. The Saints also got a big game from froward Lewis Holey (SR/Sydney, Australia), who recorded his first double-double of the season. The senior finished the game with 14 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
Despite fouling out of the contest, forward E.J Charles (SO/Mokena, Ill.) totaled 11 points after getting off to a hot start in the first half. Russell Tillery (SR/Portland, Ore.) scored in double figures for the seventh time this season amassing ten points.
The opening 20 minutes of action was a see-saw battle between the Jaguars and Saints. The first half saw 12 lead changes and three scoring ties with the Saints finding themselves trailing 35-33 at the break.
In the second half, GSU was able to pull away with a 19-2 scoring run midway through the half to give the Jaguars a 63-46 lead with 9:52 left to play in the contest. Governors State's quick offense shot 64 percent from the field after the intermission (16-of-25) and 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. For the game, the Jaguars were 10-of-19 from long range.
After tightening up on defense, the Saints were able to cut into GSU's 17-point lead with a 13-1 run to bring them within four points (66-62) with 4:52 to play. Later in the half, Buggemi would knock down a clutch three-point shot that put the Saints within 74-73 with 53 seconds left. After a pair of missed free throw from GSU, Buggemi found the ball in his hands again, but missed the go-ahead three-point shot with 20 seconds remaining. The Saints had one last shot of tying the game with 2.6 seconds left, but a hail mary inbound pass from Holey was stolen by GSU's DeAndrey Robinson, ending the hopes at a completed comeback.
Governors State finished the game shooting 49 percent from the floor (29-of-57) with four players in double figures. Gerald Duckworth only missed one field goal on the night (7-of-8) and led all scorers with 19 points. Lamar Crenshaw and Sterling Fields each scored 14 points with Payton Harley finishing the contest with 10 points.
Head coach Ryan Marks' team is set to host Olivet Nazarene on Saturday for their first and only meeting of the season. Tip-off for the CCAC game is scheduled for 7 pm.
