PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. --- Four of five University of St. Francis men's basketball starters scored in double figures, including Shir Moraidi, who authored his first collegiate double-double, to produce an 87-77 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Trinity Christian College on Wednesday night.

The Fighting Saints (5-11, 4-7 CCAC) led from start to finish, bolting out to an initial 14-2 lead fueled by EJ Charles' 10 points in the game's first five minutes.  The graduate student forward would go on to net 16 of his team-high 18 points in the first 20 minutes of the contest and record four of the team's five blocked shots on the night.

He was one of five Saints to total at least ten points in the team's second-largest scoring output of the season.  Next in line was Te Jones with 15 markers, followed by Rahmel Davis and Moraidi with 14 points each and Dakoda Joachim with 11 off the bench.

Moraidi also registered a game-high 11 rebounds leading to the Saints' 37-26 rebounding advantage.

USF did not have to do much rebounding in the opening half as the Saints converted at a 56.3 percent clip (18-of-32) from the field in opening up a 44-32 lead at the break. 

They would finish the night at 50.9 percent (27-of-53) for their second-best shooting mark of the campaign.  They also had another big night at the foul line with season highs in makes (28) and attempts (33) resulting in an 84.8 shooting percentage.

St. Francis needed that shooting mark with Trinity Christian (4-13, 0-10) hitting on 80 percent of its free throw attempts (16-of-20), while hitting 27-of-61 attempts from the field (44.3 pct.) and nearly 50 percent from long range (7-of-16).

After USF's initial burst to open the game, Trinity Christian cut the deficit to 30-25 with 5:22 remaining in the opening half.  Head coach Ryan Marks' club was quick to respond, getting the lead back up to double figures (44-32) by the break.

The Saints would stretch the advantage as high as 21 points in the second half.  Trinity Christian would cut that deficit by two-thirds, getting to within 78-71 with just under two minutes to play before USF hit 9-of-12 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory and snap a three-game losing skid.

Garrett Greene had a big night for Trinity Christian, finishing with a game-high 29 points.  He was one of three Trolls to hit for double figures.

Notes: USF's season-high scoring mark also came against Trinity Christian when the Saints put up 88 points in an 88-43 win on Nov. 29 … St. Francis has shot 76 percent or better at the foul line in each of its last five games, including shooting at an 85.2 percent clip (52-of-61) in its last two contests combined … The Saints are on the road again Saturday when they face Indiana University Northwest in Gary for a 3 pm tipoff.    

Links to live coverage can be found at gofightingsaints.com/coverage. You can also keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on Twitter @USFSaints.