WHITING, Ind. -- Merrick Small scored 17 of his career-high 25 points in the second half to lift the University of St. Francis men's basketball team to a slim 73-70 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) on Wednesday night at the Rittenmeyer Center.  The contest was the third straight win for the Saints.

Head coach Ryan Marks' club (14-6, 9-4 CCAC) came out firing in the first half, connecting on four of its first six shot attempts from the field while inducing five Calumet turnovers to find itself in front with a 9-2 lead after the first four minutes of the contest.  The Crimson Wave began to settle in from that point forward however and, over the next ten minutes, worked themselves back into the game by capturing the lead (22-20) after hitting on eight of their next 14 shots.  The remaining six minutes of the first half would showcase each team trading baskets before USF carried a four-point advantage into the break at 33-29.

The Saints extended the scoring margin to the largest lead of the second half (42-36) in the first six minutes after the intermission, but the Crimson Wave countered again over the next four minutes with an 8-3 run to retake the lead by one point, 45-44, at the midway point of the frame.  The lead would change hands four more times before a momentum-shifting three-pointer from Joffrey Nunnally allowed the Saints to grab a 57-55 advantage as part of an 11-2 scoring run that would eventually lead to a 63-57 USF lead with 3:50 remaining on the clock.  The Crimson Wave, however, once again duplicated their strategy and were able to pull back within one point (65-64) with under two minutes to play, but another timely three-pointer from Nunnally halted the hosts' charge, giving the Saints a four-point cushion.  A subsequent layup from Small then set the stage for a free throw battle the rest of the way, in which USF connected on 3-of-5 attempts while the Crimson Wave pulled within three points at 73-70.  With one second remaining on the clock and down by three, Calumet was able to draw up a play on its final possession, but the Saints chose to foul putting the hosts at the line.  The tactic proved effective as the front end of the one-and-one attempt for CCSJ would come up short, solidifying the win for St. Francis.

USF out-shot Calumet from the field at 52.6 percent (30-of-57) to CCSJ's 42.1 percent reading (24-of-57), while each team sank five treys for their respective club.  The Saints also held the upper hand in points off turnovers with 21 points resulting from that category compared to the Crimson Wave's 12.

The victory was highlighted by another big effort from Small (11-of-18), who accounted for 25 of USF's 73 points.  Nunnally netted 16 points, while Damarcies Moore (15 points) pulled down 13 rebounds as part of his double-double performance.

Calumet St. Joseph (10-10, 6-7) boasted four players scoring in double figures, topped by Tylon Toliver's and Quindarius Davis' matching 15-point showings.

USF relied on its inside presence to maintain an edge in the contest, tallying 36 of its 73 points in the paint compared to CCSJ's 24 despite the hosts' 21-9 advantage in second chance opportunities.

Up Next
The Saints are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 31 when they travel to Holy Cross College to face-off against the Saints at 2 pm CST.   

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