JOLIET, Ill. -- The University of St. Francis men's basketball team rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half before dropping an eventual 76-73 non-conference decision to Lewis University in an exhibition contest on Wednesday evening.

Coming straight off a four-day road trip after facing NCAA I University of California-Riverside in another exhibition on Sunday, the Fighting Saints (8-2) used nine three-pointers to offset a strong inside presence by Lewis (6-3) to keep the game tight.  USF managed a better shooting percentage from beyond the arc (.474, 9-of-19) than it did both overall (.400, 18-of-45) and from two-point range (.346, 9-of-26), while the Flyers connected on 52.5 percent of their attempts overall (21-of-40).

Lewis controlled the first half ,leading by as many as eight points on three occasions.  The visitors outscored the Saints 16-6 on points in the paint, but head coach Ryan Marks' club was able to take advantage of Lewis fouls to close the gap to one point (30-29) with 3:37 to go.  A 9-2 run from the Flyers marked the score at 39-31 to close the half.

Lewis was able extend its lead to 13 points just two minutes into the second half, but St. Francis got the deficit back down to six points (50-44) with an 11-4 run highlighted by three-pointers from Delshawn Simms and Joffrey Nunnally and a dunk by Aitor Anabitarte over the next four minutes.  The scoring burst looked to swing the momentum in the Saints' direction, but the Flyers continued to utilize their inside presence to maintain a six-to-eight-point advantage the rest of the way until a Nick Niego trey made it a 74-70 game with 40 seconds on the clock.  The Saints would get as close as three points before time expired to mark the final score at 76-73.

The contest marked the second straight year both teams came together to honor former Saint and Flyer Hall of Fame inductee Tony Delgado, who passed away unexpectedly in the summer of 2023.  Delgado played both baseball and basketball at Lewis before serving as the head coach of the latter sport and as an assistant on the diamond.  He then went over to St. Francis, where he served as an assistant coach in women's basketball and both an assistant and the head coach in baseball. 

Following the game, Anabitarte and Lewis' Paxton Warden were named the Tony Delgado Memorial Players of the Game.  Anabitarte tallied a game-high 29 points, which included an eye-popping 20-for-20 performance from the charity stripe.  He also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.  Warden led the Flyers with a team-high 22 points and seven rebounds.

One year ago, Lewis' Ryan Renfro claimed the inaugural recognition following the Flyers' 69-57 win over the Saints.

Simms and Niego each authored 11-point games for St. Francis with Simms connecting on a game-best three treys.  Nunnally totaled eight points and two steals.

Up Next
The Saints are back in action on Monday, Dec. 30 with a 1 pm tip-off against Goshen College (Ind.).  The game is part of a two-day tournament hosted by the Saints.

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