University of St. Francis (III.)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The University of St. Francis men's basketball team rallied from an eight-point deficit in the opening half and did the same after the break before dropping an eventual 78-71 non-conference decision to Marian University (Ind.) on Sunday afternoon.

Coming off a six-day break after opening their 2024-25 season with an exhibition game against NCAA I University of Illinois Chicago on Monday, the Fighting Saints (0-1) used eight three-pointers to offset a strong inside presence by Marian (2-0) to keep the game tight.  USF managed a better shooting percentage from beyond the arc (.471, 8-of-17) than it did both overall (.462, 30-of-65) and from two-point range (.458, 22-of-48), while the Knights connected on 46.4 percent of their attempts overall (39-of-84).

The Saints led by four points (19-15) midway through the first half, but a 20-8 run over the next six minutes propelled Marian to its largest lead of the opening half at 35-27 with 3:12 to play.  The Knights still led by seven points at the two-minute mark before the Saints took advantage of Marian fouls to close the gap to three points (39-36) on free throws before a last-second MU jumper marked the score at 41-36 to close the half.

Fueled by six points from Rahmel Davis (8 points, 3 rebounds) and another three from Delshawn Simms, the Saints captured the lead back at 45-43 by sparking a 9-2 run to open the second half of play.  USF was able to carry the two-point advantage to the 13:57 mark, but Marian would tie the game at 47-47 on a breakaway layup before taking the lead.  The Knights would maintain a single-digit advantage the rest of the way with the Saints fighting back from an eventual eight-point deficit to get as close as 65-63 at the 3:51 mark and 67-65 with 3:14 to play.

Aitor Anabitarte tallied a team-high 14 points as well as a game-high 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season for the Saints.  Simms and Shir Moraidi each authored 12-point games, with Simms connecting for a team-best four three-pointers.  Dakoda Joachim came off the bench to total eight points and two steals.

Up Next
The Saints are back in action on Friday, Nov. 15 with a 5 pm tip-off against Bellevue University (Neb.) in La Crosse, Wis.  The game is part of a two-day tournament hosted by Viterbo University (Wis.).

You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @ USFSaints.