DAVENPORT, Iowa --- A pair of dry spells late in each half kept the University of St. Francis men's basketball team from opening its 2023-24 campaign with a road victory as St. Ambrose University escaped with a 70-68 double-overtime win to begin Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play Wednesday afternoon at Lee Lohman Arena.

USF (0-1, 0-1 CCAC) led 28-23 with 4:53 remaining in the first half, but would not score again until 72 seconds into the second half.  During that six-plus minute span, St. Ambrose (5-2, 2-0) went on an 11-0 run to take a 34-28 lead, while the Saints went 0-for-7 from the field with four turnovers.

The hosts would eventually get the advantage up to as high as seven points (47-40) – the largest lead for either team – with 11:25 remaining in regulation before the Saints went on their own tear.  They would outscore St. Ambrose 10-1 over the next five minutes to regain the advantage at 50-48.

Both teams struggled to find any offense the rest of regulation with St. Ambrose producing just five points in the closing 11:27, while the Saints totaled only two points in the final 6:27 of regulation.  St. Ambrose's two baskets to close out the half came in 13 attempts, not to mention one free throw in two attempts.  The Fighting Bees also turned the ball over five times in the last 11 minutes of regulation.

USF, meanwhile, went 1-for-11 from the field with one missed free throw and one turnover in that 6:27 stretch.

Both teams had chances to win the contest in the closing minute of regulation.  St. Ambrose missed on a pair of shots in the last 11 seconds, while USF missed a jumper and had one turnover in the final 45 seconds.

The Saints also had a pair of four-point leads in the first overtime (56-52 and 60-56) only to have St. Ambrose rally to force ties each time.  The two teams again had a chance to end the contest in the first overtime with late shots.  St. Francis had a layup roll off the right side of the rim with 11 seconds remaining, while St. Ambrose missed on a three-pointer from the corner at the buzzer.

In the second overtime, neither team led by more than two points with St. Ambrose finishing off the game with a pair of free throws with one second left.

In the final 20 minutes of the contest neither team led by more than four points.  For the game, there were 14 ties and nine lead changes over the course of the 50-minute affair.

USF's EJ Charles led all scorers with his 18 points on the afternoon, while Don Joachim registered a double-double with his 13 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four steals.  Other contributors included Ben Faatz (game-high 12 rebounds) and Dakoda Joachim (12 points).

St. Ambrose's Ignacio Dacunda, who converted the game's final two free throws, also delivered a double-double with his 11 points and 12 rebounds.  Jake Friel led the Bees with 13 points.

Both teams struggled to find their offensive games as noted earlier, shooting just 30 percent each in the second half, not including overtime.  For the game, SAU was slightly better at 38 percent (27-of-71) to USF's 35.6 percent mark (26-of-73).

From long range, both teams converted at a 23 percent clip with the Saints making one more trey (6-5) than St. Ambrose. 

Notes: Faatz, Te Jones, Dakoda Joachim, Rahmel Davis and Nick Niego all made their St. Francis debuts on Wednesday … Don Joachim tied his career high in points, while producing his first double-double as a Saint with his career-best 11 boards … NAIA No. 14 St. Thomas University (Fla.) awaits USF on Saturday as part of the St. Francis Thanksgiving Classic this weekend.

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