JOLIET, Ill. --- Aitor Anabitarte scored a career-high 34 points and authored his ninth double-double of the season to lead the University of St. Francis men's basketball team to an 85-73 non-conference victory over East-West University on Saturday afternoon at the Sullivan Center.

Anabitarte totaled 14 points in the first half and another 20 in the second half to go along with 13 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.  He converted all but one of his 13 free throw attempts, while going 10-of-15 from the field, including a perfect 2-for-2 from outside the arc.

EJ Charles missed joining the double-double club by one rebound, finishing with 13 points and nine boards.  Nadav Gerner contributed another ten points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

East-West's De'Quaniis Jackson tied Anabitarte for game-high scoring honors.  Eighteen of his points came from three-point range.

The contest was tight until late in the game with 12 lead changes and a pair of ties.  Neither team led by double digits in the opening half with USF's biggest lead being nine points and East-West's being four points.

The Saints pushed the lead to 11 points 6:31 into the second half before East-West wiped that deficit out with a 14-3 run to regain a 59-58 edge with nine minutes to play.  That lead was short-lived – just 15 seconds – as USF had the advantage back up to 12 points by the three-minute mark.

St. Francis shot 54.7 percent for the contest (29-of-53) to that of East-West's 37.3 reading (28-of-75).  The Saints also shot nearly 60 percent in the closing half (16-of-27), where they outscored the Phantoms 49-41.  Head coach Ryan Marks' club also out-boarded the guests 49-32.

East-West stayed in the game by taking advantage of 18 USF turnovers, which netted the Phantoms 25 points.  USF had ten points off nine East-West miscues.

The win was the third in a row for the Saints, who are now 14-10 on the campaign.

Notes: Anabitarte established team season highs or tied them in four categories with his performance on Saturday.  Besides the 34 points, his ten field goals and three blocks tied the team-best mark, while his 12 free throws established a new team mark for the year … Gerner's 10 points marked his second time scoring in double figures this winter … USF's 49 rebounds and eight blocks are both new season highs … The Saints' .547 shooting clip was its second-best percentage of the campaign … USF closes out the home portion of the regular season on Wednesday when it hosts St. Ambrose University at 7 pm.

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