JOLIET, Ill. -- Ben Faatz scored a career-high 18 points and Aitor Anabitarte registered the 14th double-double of his career as the University of St. Francis men's basketball team locked in its tenth win of the 2024-25 season with its 69-58 victory over McPherson College (Kan.) to close out Day 2 of the USF New Year's Classic on Tuesday afternoon. With the win, St. Francis improves to 10-2 overall.

Faatz delivered his 18 points with a near-perfect showing from the floor (7-of-8) and a 4-for-4 performance from the charity stripe.  Anabitarte provided 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Rahmel Davis contributed another 14 points and eight rebounds.

McPherson (4-9) had one player score in double figures.  Antonio Watson's 13 points led the Bulldogs.

The first half was tight throughout with neither team holding more than a five-point advantage until an 8-0 USF run in the final two minutes allowed the Saints to take a 42-34 lead into the break.  St. Francis was able to keep that comfortable cushion early in the second half before a scoring spurt by McPherson would cut the Bulldogs' deficit to two points (47-45) with just under 15 minutes to play.  The game remained tight until a momentum-shifting dunk from Anabitarte at the 3:09 mark kick-started a dominant 8-0 run for USF over the game's final three minutes to secure the 69-58 win for Ryan Marks' club.

Aiding the effort was the Saints' 28-of-55 shooting effort (.509) from the floor, while McPherson converted at just a .309 clip (21-of-68) for the game.  St. Francis won the rebound battle 43-37, as well, and dominated the Bulldogs in the paint with a 46-12 point differential.

Up Next
The Saints have the next three days off before hosting Holy Cross College in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference competition on Saturday, Jan. 4.  The contest begins at 3 pm in the Pat Sullivan Center.

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