JOLIET, Ill. -- Aitor Anabitarte scored nine of his 15 points in the second half, including a go-ahead three-point play with just 54 seconds left, to lift the University of St. Francis men's basketball team to a 66-64 non-conference victory over Lourdes University (Ohio) on Saturday night at the Sullivan Center.  The contest was the third straight tight finish for the Saints, who won nine- and seven-point decisions in each of its previous two games.  Overall, USF is now 5-1 on the season with victories in each of its last five contests.  The loss was the first of the season for Lourdes (7-1).

St. Francis trailed by as many as seven points in the first half before putting together a 9-0 run over a three-minute period to take its first lead of the game at 19-18 with 5:39 remaining before the intermission.  The Saints led by as many as four points in the half's remaining five minutes before settling for a one-point advantage at the break after a Joffrey Nunnally free throw put USF ahead 30-29.

The Gray Wolves (7-1) out-shot the Saints in the opening half 40.7 percent (11-of-27) with five treys to USF's 34.8 percent reading (8-of-23) and one trey, but the Saints had the upper hand in charity-stripe conversions with 13 points off 16 attempts compared to the visitors' 2-fof-3 showing in the same category.

Lourdes countered in the opening three minutes of the second half with a nine-point run to recapture the lead, an advantage the Gray Wolves would be able to hold for the first 10 minutes following the break.  The Saints were able to stem the tide, however, and began to cut the deficit after a hard-fought layup from Shir Moraidi started a scoring run that was capped off with a Sean Richardson three-pointer that put the Saints back in front 48-45 at the 9:17 mark.  USF would maintain no more than a three-point edge for its own extended period of time before a Lourdes' three-pointer with 2:02 remaining knotted the contest at 59-all.  The Saints then regained the lead 61-59 on their next possession with Merrick Small's reverse layup, only to have Lourdes net one more three-pointer to go back up 62-61.  Anabitarte's strong layup through two defenders and subsequent free throw produced the three-point play that put the Saints back ahead 64-62.  After Lourdes tied the game on its next possession, Anabitarte came right back with two free throws that proved to be the clinchers after the Gray Wolves came up short on a three-point attempt at the buzzer.  

St. Francis out-scored the guests 15-5 on second-chance points, highlighted by 16 offensive rebounds among its 40 total.  The Saints also claimed a 12-10 advantage on points off turnovers.

Anabitarte led the hosts with 15 points, while also gaining top honors in both rebounds (10) and blocked shots (two).  Rahmel Davis added another 13 points, which included two three-pointers, and Small contributed 12 points and five rebounds.  Anabitarte and Small combined to convert 15-of-17 attempts from the charity stripe as part of a 22-of-26 total team showing for USF.

Shaunn Monroe, the nation's leading scorer, topped Lourdes' chart with 30 points.  Derrell Jones provided another 10 points for the Gray Wolves.

Up Next
The Saints will take the court again Sunday afternoon when they face-off against Hastings College (Neb.) in Day 2 of the USF Thanksgiving Classic.

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