UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill. --- Battling for the final spot in the upcoming Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament in two weeks, the University of St. Francis men's basketball team delivered its second-best shooting mark of the season to score an important 88-83 league win over Governors State University on Wednesday night.

The Fighting Saints (7-15, 6-11 CCAC) shot 65.5 percent from the field (19-of-29) in the opening 20 minutes with five three-pointers in eight attempts to lead by as many as 17 points before settling for a 48-32 advantage at the break.  Rahmel Davis led the brigade with 15 of his team-high 17 points coming in the first half on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, including a pair of three-pointers.

Davis, however, was assessed a foul and a technical early in the second half, which ended his night (5 fouls) and the Saints did everything they needed to do down the stretch to stave off Governors State.  The Jaguars rallied from 19 points down early in the second half to get the deficit back to single digits with 13:14 remaining in the affair.  They eventually got as close as two points, 80-78, with 2:38 to play before Shir Moraidi and Te Jones hit clutch free throws and baskets down the stretch to prevail.  Jones scored nine of his 16 points after the break and Moraidi eight of his 12.

Other Saints to keep Governors State from either tying or taking the lead for the first time in the contest down the stretch included EJ Charles, Connor Casper and Dakoda Joachim.

USF finished the night at 56.4 percent from the field (31-of-55), aided by its top three-point shooting clip of the campaign (7-of-13, 53.8 pct.).  The Saints were also 19-of-25 at the foul line (76 pct.), while Governors State was 22-for-33 (66.7 pct.).  For the game, the Jaguars shot 42.6 percent from the field, but 53.1 percent after halftime (17-of-32) compared with their 31 percent first-half shooting mark (9-of-29).

The hosts also got back into the game by holding a 43-33 rebounding advantage, which led to 22 second-chance points opposite just nine for the Saints.

Five USF players in all tallied at least eight points topped by Davis.  Besides his 16 points, Jones also provided six rebounds and four assists.  Moraidi totaled the 12 points, eight boards and three assists.

Other contributors included Nick Niego (11 points, 3 treys) and Don Joachim (8 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds).

Governors State's Oluyemi Elutilo led all scorers with 23 markers.  He was one of four Jaguars to net 12 or more points.

Notes: The Saints are now 4-0 on the season when they shoot better than 50 percent from the field … The 88 points were one off USF's season-high total … St. Francis hosts Judson University in another important league contest on Saturday with a 3 pm tipoff.  The Saints currently sit one game out of the postseason, just in back of Calumet College of St. Joseph with three regular-season games remaining.

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