XENIA, Ohio -- For the second game in a row, a double-digit halftime deficit was too much for the University of St. Francis men's basketball team to overcome as the Fighting Saints dropped a 67-53 decision to St. Thomas University (Fla.) in day one of the Athletes in Action NAIA Christmas Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at the John Wooden Fieldhouse in Xenia, Ohio.

Poor shooting plagued St. Francis throughout the duration of the first half, with the Saints connecting on just three of its first 15 attempts that resulted in seven points after the first 15 minutes of play.  After a slow start of their own, St. Thomas (7-6) would extend their 20-7 advantage at the five-minute mark to as high as 15 points (29-14) in the closing minute of the half, before settling for a 29-16 score at the break.

The deficit would sway between 10 and 16 points at the start of the second half before Delshawn Simms and Ben Kreitz got hot from beyond the arc for the Saints.  The back-to-back three pointers would aid in getting USF back within striking distance at 43-35 with 11:31 to play.

St. Thomas would respond, however, with a trio of consecutive treys before turning a pair of USF turnovers into layups to up their margin back to 12 points (56-44) with 5:04 remaining in the contest.  The Saints would work the score back down to an eight-point game (61-53) over the next three minutes with 1:52 remaining, but STU would seal the 67-53 win with two breakaway layups down the stretch.

St. Thomas gained a one-point (38-37) scoring edge over the Saints in the second half by shooting 58.3 percent from the field (14-of-24) with five treys in seven attempts.  Nine offensive boards resulting in 13 second chance points along with 11 free throws in 15 attempts (74.4 pct.) after halftime fueled St. Francis' 37-point scoring mark.  The Saints also shot better overall after the break (35.5 pct., 11-of-31), compared to a 5-of-22 (22.7 pct.) showing in the first half.

Brady Cooper played a key role in the Saints' second-half resurgence, accounting for 14 of his team-high 17 total points after going 3-for-7 from the field and 8-for-9 from the charity stripe after the intermission.

Delshawn Simms sank a trio of three-pointers for USF as part of his 13 points, while Damarcies Moore pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with his seven markers.

Adrian Cruz finished with 25 points on 9-of-20 shooting with four assists for St. Thomas.

Up Next
The Saints will take the court again tomorrow afternoon (Dec. 17) when they face-off against Milligan University (Tenn.) in Day 2 of the Athletes in Action NAIA Christmas Tournament.  The game is slatted to begin at 1:45 pm CST.

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