PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. -- All five starters scored in double figures and the University of St. Francis men's basketball team hit the 80-point mark for the second time this season in claiming an 82-75 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Trinity Christian College on Tuesday night.  The win was the fourth in a row for the Fighting Saints and enabled them to improve to 4-1 on the year and 2-0 in CCAC action.

The Fighting Saints shot 56.0 percent from the field (14-of-25) in the opening 20 minutes with four three-pointers in eight attempts to lead by as many as seven points.  Trinity Christian, however, was just as solid from the field in shooting 53.6 percent (15-of-28) with eight three-pointers to take a 40-38 advantage at the break.  Rahmel Davis led the Saints with 12 of his team-high 15 points coming in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting from the field with an additional four free throws.

St. Francis did everything it needed to do down the stretch to stave off Trinity Christian (2-5, 0-2 CCAC) in the second half.  Beginning the period with a 9-0 run, the Saints quickly jumped ahead 47-40 in the first three minutes of the half.  The Trolls eventually evened the score, 65-65, with 6:39 to play before Delshawn Simms and Joffrey Nunnally hit clutch three pointers down the stretch to get the USF lead back up to six points.  St. Francis would lead by as many as eight in the period's final two minutes before the game ended with the 82-75 final score.  Aitor Anabitarte and Merrick Small scored 10 points each after the break and Simms added eight of his 10 total markers in the second half.

Along with Simms, four other Saints finished in double figures in the points column with two recording double-doubles.  Davis and Anabitarte each pulled down 10 boards in the contest with Davis authoring the 15-point night and Anabitarte posting 14.  Nunnally registered a career high 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, with Small chipping in 12.

USF finished the night at 55.8 percent shooting from the field (29-of-52), aided by a three-point shooting clip of 50 percent (8-of-16).  The Saints were also 16-of-22 at the foul line (72.7 percent), while Trinity Christian was just 2-for-3 (66.7 percent).  For the game, the Trolls shot 49.2 percent from the field, but just 45.1 percent after halftime (14-of-31) compared with their first-half shooting mark.  The Saints also were able to control the game by holding a 34-19 rebounding advantage.

Trinity Christian's Tylan Harris and Silas Spaulding led all scorers with 18 points apiece, while connecting for a combined 10 treys.  They were two of four Trolls to net 10 or more points.

Up Next
St. Francis will take the court again on Saturday, Nov. 30 as the Saints prepare to host the annual USF Thanksgiving Classic.  Hastings College (Neb.), Lourdes University (Ohio) and Saint Xavier University will all compete in the event with St. Francis facing off first against Lourdes on Saturday evening.  Tip-off is scheduled for 6 pm in the Pat Sullivan Center.

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