JOLIET, Ill. -- Led by Damarcies Moore's 16 points and 14 rebounds, the University of St. Francis men's basketball team grabbed its ninth victory of the season, beating Vermont State University Randolph 93-59 on Wednesday afternoon.  Following the win, the Fighting Saints advanced their overall record to 9-3 on the season, while Vermont State dropped to 9-6.

Including Moore, 16 Saints in total contributed to the scoring column with three of those reaching double figures.  Moore (7-of-12 shooting) highlighted the attack, while Brady Cooper (5-of-6) showcased a 15-point performance and Coleton Hansen (3-of-5) chipped in 10 points.  Merrick Small contributed another seven points and led both teams by dishing out eight assists.

Jaylon Calvin (14 points) and Will Jenkins (12) were the only players to score in double figures for Vermont State.

After working the game to a 22-22 tie midway through the first half, a 17-3 scoring surge that carried to the intermission put the game out of reach as the Saints never fell below a double-digit lead the rest of the afternoon.  St. Francis built a 59-29 advantage five minutes into the second half and extended its lead to 40 points with 6:32 remaining in the game.  The Knights fought back late by authoring a 15-6 run over the next four minutes to cut their deficit to as low as 31, but a three-pointer from Evan Hutcheson would stop the guests' momentum and be the start of a 7-0 USF run that would carry to the end of the game in the 93-59 contest.

A season-high 19 offensive rebounds led to a 26-0 swing in second chance points for the Saints, who also held a sizable 51-23 advantage in total boards over the Knights.  USF finished the day shooting at .500 overall (34-of-68) and converted 12-of-34 three-point attempts (35.3 percent), while going 13-of-16 on free throws (.813).  Vermont State finished the contest converting just under 40 percent of its shots (21-of-55, .382), while hitting at a 40.0 percent rate from three-point range (10-of-25) and going 7-for-10 at the free-throw line (.700).

Up Next
The Saints will be on the road to face Governors State University in a 3 pm contest on Saturday, Jan. 3.

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