LINCOLN, Ill. --- Another team effort both offensively and defensively carried the University of St. Francis men's basketball team to its second straight key Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory, this time a 61-50 decision over Lincoln College on Wednesday night.

The Saints, who climbed back up to the .500 mark in league play at 8-8 with the victory, set the tone in the first half by limiting Lincoln to just 28 percent shooting (8-of-29) and only 19 points. For the game, USF (12-9) held the hosts 20 points below their scoring average.

Lincoln (9-14, 7-8 CCAC) ended the night at 38 percent shooting with only two baskets in 16 chances from three point range (12.5 pct.). The Lynx also converted just 10-of-23 free throw attempts. 

USF countered with a 44.6 percent reading from the field (25-of-56), while making 6-of-20 treys (30 pct.) but only five free throws in nine attempts.  

Offensively, the Saints disbursed the scoring evenly for the second game in a row with seven different players ranging from 6-to-14 points. Russell Tillery topped the field with 14 markers on 7-of-10 accuracy.

Joey Buggemi and Carter Fayhee each provided ten points with the latter just missing a double double by one board. Lewis Holey (6 points) led everyone with 12 rebounds.
Peewee Brown (13 points), Dejon Barney (12), and Darnell Latham Jr. (10) provided the majority of the offense for the hosts.

Runs of 12 and 10 unanswered points kept Lincoln at arm's length for much of the night. The 12-0 run came early on with five different Saints contributing to give head coach Ryan Marks' club a 16-6 advantage.

The second surge closed out the first half and opened the second when USF went from a 23-19 lead to a 33-19 advantage. Darius Wright (7 points) closed the half with a three pointer as part of the run. 

From there, the Saints would keep the Lynx just far enough away ranging from 7-to-10 points.

The win enabled USF to close out a difficult six game, 11 day stretch by breaking even at 3-3. It also allowed the Saints to gain revenge on Lincoln for an earlier 80-70 defeat at the Sullivan Center on Dec. 4.

Up Next
The Saints are back on the road Saturday to face Trinity International University in Deerfield. Tip off is set for 3 pm.

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