JOLIET, Ill. --- The University of St. Francis men's basketball team limited second-place Indiana University South Bend to just two points over a seven-minute span in the second half and then held on to defeat the Titans 57-56 in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup on Wednesday night at the Sullivan Center.

The contest was the third in five days for the Saints with the victory offsetting a tough 80-78 setback to Trinity International University on Monday.  It also pushed USF back over the .500 mark to 9-8 overall and 8-5 in league play.

Like it did Monday, St. Francis had to dig itself out of a double-digit hole, falling behind 26-13 with just under seven minutes to play in the opening half on Wednesday.  Back-to-back treys by EJ Charles sparked the Saints for the second time in eight days.  He was one of three Saints to deliver four treys – the team finished with seven on the night – during a closing 17-7 run to get USF within 33-30 at the break.

By the 10:52 mark of the second half, Indiana South Bend (13-6, 10-3) had its lead back up to eight points, 46-38.  The Saints, however, flipped the score over the next 7:13, outscoring IUSB 18-2 to take a 56-48 lead with 3:39 remaining in the contest.  Seven straight points off three Titan turnovers gave USF the lead for good with Darius Wright and Lewis McGlasson both providing five points and Aitor Anabitarte four during the rally.

Head coach Ryan Marks' club then had to stave off Indiana South Bend after scoring only one more point the rest of the way.  The Saints missed two of three free throws in the closing 16 seconds and then had to wait until a 15-foot, fade-away jumper from the right corner came up empty to survive their 11th game decided by seven points or less this season.  They are now 5-6 in said games.

USF's 15 points off 14 IUSB turnovers proved crucial in the end after the Saints were held to a season-low 38.2 percent shooting from the field (12-of-55).  St. Francis authored a season-low seven turnovers with Indiana South Bend producing just six points off those miscues.

Anabitarte led a trio of Saints that scored in double figures.  He posted a double-double (17 points, game-high 12 rebounds) to go along with four assists.  Wright added 13 points, while Carter Fayhee contributed 11 points and four assists. 

Kerry Washington, who took the game's final shot, led all scorers with 18 points.

Notes: Anabitarte's double-double was his sixth of the season.  He also posted a season-high four assists, while registering his second-highest rebounding total … USF came away with a season-high 12 steals in the game off the 14 IUSB turnovers with Fayhee's three thefts topping the club … After recording a season-high 19 turnovers in each of their previous two games, the Saints took care of the ball on Wednesday to the tune of the season-low seven miscues … St. Francis' 57 points were its lowest total of the season, while IUSB's 56 were its second-lowest mark … The two teams broke even in their season series with Indiana South Bend claiming a 77-61 victory on its home court back in Dec. … The contest wrapped up a three-game homestand for the Saints, who take a 5-1 record away from the Sullivan Center to Judson University on Saturday.

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