JOLIET, Ill. --- Neighboring rival Lewis University outscored the University of St. Francis men's basketball team 19-2 on second-chance points and the Flyer bench delivered 40 points to USF's 10 in scoring an 84-71 non-conference victory at the Sullivan Center on Wednesday night.
The Saints (10-9) opened the affair by scoring nine of the game's first 11 points before Lewis answered shortly thereafter with a 16-2 run of its own to go up 23-15. Eight of the guests' points during that burst came on second opportunities, including a pair of three-pointers.
Lewis (8-11) would maintain that distance between itself and USF for the majority of the rest of the night. The Saints did make a pair of runs at Lewis in the second half. They would get as close as 54-48 with 10:46 to play the first time before the Flyers took their biggest lead of the night at 69-54 with just under seven minutes remaining.
The second time, St. Francis pulled even closer, making it a five-point game twice at 3:43 (72-67) and 2:16 (74-69) before Lewis finally sealed the win with a closing 10-2 run.
Both teams finished the game shooting an identical 50.9 percent from the field with Lewis gaining one more field goal. The Flyers doubled up on the Saints on three-pointers (8-4) and went 18-for-20 (90 percent) at the foul line.
Both teams finished with four players scoring in double figures. For the Saints, it was four of their five starters in
Carter Fayhee (game-high 19 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists),
Aitor Anabitarte (15 points),
EJ Charles (13 points, 5 steals) and
Darius Wright (10 points, 5 assists).
Lewis, which out-boarded the Saints 33-24, was led by a pair of players off the bench. Vlado Zrnic topped the charts in both points (16 points) and rebounds (nine), while Colin Kenney put up 15 points.
Notes: Wright's five assists were a career high … Charles tied a team season high with his five steals … USF's eight turnovers tied for its second-lowest figure of the year … The Saints converted just 4-of-18 three-pointers on the night for 22.2 percent, which was their second-lowest shooting mark of the season from that distance … Lewis tied a season high for a St. Francis opponent with its .900 shooting clip from the free-throw line … The Flyers also tallied the second-most points against the Saints this winter and became the fifth team in the last six games to shoot better than 50 percent from the field against USF … St. Francis is back on the road Saturday afternoon, where it will be seeking revenge against Trinity International University for an 80-78 setback just last Monday. The Saints are 6-1 on the road this season.        Â
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