BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- A 34-point first half by Olivet Nazarene University proved too much for the University of St. Francis men's basketball team to overcome as the Fighting Saints dropped the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference road matchup by a 74-55 count at McHie Arena in Bourbonnais, Ill. on Saturday afternoon.  The loss snapped the Saints' seven-game unbeaten streak and a four-game win streak in league contests.

Olivet Nazarene (8-2, 5-0 CCAC) converted at a 41.9 percent clip from the field (13-of-31) in the first half to outscore the Saints 34-19 before upping that mark to 52.0 percent (13-of-25) through the final 20 minutes of the contest.  St. Francis (7-1, 4-1), meanwhile, after shooting 40.9 percent from the field in the first half, held steady to produce a similar 40.7 percent mark after the break to finish at 40.8 percent (20-of-49) for the day.

ONU ended the game shooting at 46.4 percent with its 26-of-56 effort.  The Tigers were also 18-of-23 from the foul line compared to the Saints' 11-of-14 showing.

After sinking three of their first four shots of the game that resulted in a quick 7-3 lead, the momentum quickly shifted for the Saints after five turnovers and six missed shots over the team's next 13 possessions resulted in a disastrous 18-4 scoring run that marked the score at 21-11 with eight minutes remaining in the half.  The Saints were able to cut the deficit to a two-possession game over the next four minutes, but three more turnovers combined with a 4-of-5 shooting effort from the Tigers resulted in another scoring burst (11-2) that allowed the hosts to take a 15-point advantage (34-19) into the locker rooms at the intermission.

USF's first half mistakes proved too much for the Saints to overcome throughout the duration of the second period as the Tigers' lead never dipped below a 12-point margin.  Behind 38-26 with 17 minutes remaining in the contest, the Saints failed to score a field goal over the next six minutes to extend their deficit to 46-29.  The scoring margin would balloon to as high as 23 points on three separate occasions before Ibrahim Mobayed, Lorenzo Aquino and Paolo Mondini-Branzi combined to score USF's final seven points of the game to finalize the score at 74-55.

Damarcies Moore topped USF's scoring chart with 12 points with nine of those markers coming from a 3-for-3 showing from beyond the arc.  Joffrey Nunnally chipped in another 11 points to USF's total, while Moore led the team in rebounding with six.

Olivet Nazarene was led by Eli Edwards' 21 points and another 16 from Keagen Holder.

Up Next
The Saints return to action on Tuesday (Dec. 16) when they travel to Xenia, Ohio to take on St. Thomas University (Fla.) in day one of the Athletes in Action NAIA Christmas Tournament.  Game time is set for 11:30 am CST and will take place in the John Wooden Fieldhouse.       

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