PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. -- With eight lead changes and no more than nine points separating the two teams throughout the first 30 minutes of play, the University of St. Francis men's basketball team lit up the final 10 minutes with five three-pointers down the stretch to take down Trinity Christian College 90-82 in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference contest on Saturday afternoon.  The string of threes accounted for 15 of USF's final 27 points before the Trolls' resorted to late game fouls, which proved to be the separation needed in a 53-51 affair with 10:01 remaining in the game.  With the win, St. Francis moves to 2-0 overall on the season and in league play.

A 12-4 difference on the offensive glass resulting in a 15-3 scoring advantage in second-chance opportunities also resulted in the Saints winning the vast majority of 50-50 opportunities and turning them into much-needed points as the Trolls (29-of-51, 56.9 pct.) outshot the Saints (31-of-62, 50.0 pct.) on the night.

Joffrey Nunnally was one of four Saints to score in double figures, finishing with a career-high 26 points, while Delshawn Simms tallied 11 markers.  Both players, along with Coleton Hansen (13 points), accounted for all five three-pointers during the Saints' late game-scoring run while a 12-point first-half from Merrick Small contributed to his 16 total points.

For Trinity Christian (3-3, 1-1), three of its five starters tallied at least ten points, topped by Tylan Harris' 23 markers.

Trinity Christian carried the offense early on with the hosts registering a 19-12 lead midway through the first half and maintaining a nine-point advantage with 2:38 remaining before intermission.  The Trolls saw their lead slowly evaporate, however, when St. Francis went on a 6-0 run to cut their deficit to three and head into the locker room with a 36-33 halftime score.

Neither team could break away from the other to start the second half, with the scoring margin staying within five points for the first 10 minutes.  After taking a 53-51 lead into the final 10 minutes, the offensive switch came on for head coach Ryan Marks' club after the Saints gained a five-point lead following a successful three-pointer from Hansen.  From there, the Saints exploded from beyond the arc, rattling off four more treys over the next five minutes as part of a 27-13 scoring outburst that turned the 53-51 game into an 80-66 USF advantage with 2:23 left on the clock.  After TCC countered with five quick points on back-to-back possessions, the Saints would sink all of their final 10 free throws in the closing minutes to seal the 90-82 win.

Up Next
St. Francis will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 25 when the Saints face off against Judson University for another Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference showdown.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm at the Pat Sullivan Center.

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