JOLIET, Ill. -- Merrick Small scored 13 of his 24 points in the second half, including a crucial three-point play with just 10 seconds left, to lift the University of St. Francis men's basketball team to a 64-59 non-conference victory over Marian University (Ind.) on Saturday night at the Sullivan Center.  The contest was the fourth straight win for the Saints, who remain unbeaten in the 2025-26 season.  Overall, USF is now 4-0.  The loss was the seventh of the season for Marian (1-7).

Offensive rebounding proved crucial as head coach Ryan Marks' club bested the visitors in that category, 7-1, to gain an 8-0 advantage on second chance points.  That along with a 42-20 advantage on points in the paint helped offset a poor shooting performance from beyond the arc, with the Saints finishing with a 14.3 shooting percentage (3-of-21) compared to Marian's 42.9 percent (6-of-14).

With USF holding a two-point lead (32-30) after the first half, the Saints would go ahead 46-39 to take their largest lead of the evening six minutes into the second frame.  Marian defenders would hold St. Francis to just six points over the next eight minutes, while slowly shrinking the scoring gap to 52-51.  The Saints countered with a 6-2 spurt sparked by a Small dunk to widen their lead back to five points, but a quick Marian basket followed by two free throws kept the game at one point (58-57) with four minutes to go.  After Coleton Hansen drained a clutch three-pointer to make it a four-point game at the 2:11 mark, a Marian jumper made it 61-59 with 38 seconds left.  On the Saints' next possession, Small came through again, connecting for a crucial layup deep in the paint while drawing the foul to allow for the opportunity of a three-point play.  The senior would drain the subsequent free throw with 10 seconds remaining to give the Saints the five-point advantage and allow USF to hold on and seal the 64-59 victory.

St. Francis finished the game converting at a 46.4 percent mark from the field (26-of-56), while Marian registered a 45.3 percentage (24-of-53).  Both teams finished the game scoring eight points apiece off turnovers, while also registering single digits from the free throw line with USF netting nine of its 12 attempts to Marian's 5-of-5 showing.

Small secured game-high scoring honors for USF with his 24 points coming via a 10-of-14 performance from the floor, while Damarcies Moore went 5-of-15 for 12 points.  Both men pulled down seven boards apiece.

Coleton Hansen and Connor Casper were big assets defensively with the two players combining for two blocks and two steals, while Dakoda Joachim came up with the biggest defensive play of the night after blocking Marian's last three-point shot attempt in the final seconds of the game.

Marian was led by Aaron Humphrey, Jr.'s team-high 21 points, with Ron Rutland III contributing another 12 markers.

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

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