JOLIET, Ill. -- Aided by 17- and 16-point scoring efforts from Merrick Small and Joffrey Nunnally, the University of St. Francis men's basketball team secured a home playoff berth to start the postseason with a tight 68-65 overtime victory over Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Indiana University South Bend on Saturday afternoon at the Pat Sullivan Center.  Before the contest, St. Francis honored its six seniors, Dakoda Joachim, Ben Kreitz, Joffrey Nunnally, Damarcies Moore, Delshawn Simms and Merrick Small.

The win enabled the Fighting Saints (20-7, 14-5 CCAC) to edge out Olivet Nazarene University for the second seed in next week's CCAC Tournament based on tie-breaking procedures.  USF will host seven-seeded Saint Xavier University to begin postseason play on Wednesday.

IUSB (18-10, 13-6) led the entirety of the first half and expanded its lead to as high as 11 points before taking a nine-point advantage (39-30) into the intermission.  That double-digit lead would hold true for seven minutes into the second half when the Saints responded at that point with an aggressive 17-6 scoring run – aided by five IUSB turnovers and a 7-of-12 shooting burst from USF - to turn a 48-38 IUSB advantage into a 55-54 USF edge at the 6:49 mark to give the Saints their first lead of the night.

The remaining minutes of regulation showcased three lead changes and three tied scores between the two squads before a Titan jumper with 18 seconds remaining pushed the score into a 61-61 deadlock that would carry into the overtime period.

After sinking two of its first four shots to start the extra frame, IUSB held a slight two-point margin with just under three minutes to play before head coach Ryan Marks' club delivered on its next possession with a clutch three-pointer from Nunnally to give the Saints a 66-65 lead.  USF's defense would then hold the Titans to four missed shots in the final 2:28 seconds, including a final attempt at the buzzer, but the visitors' shot would come up short, resulting in the Saints closing out the contest with the 68-65 overtime win.

USF recorded a shooting mark of 42.6 percent on the day, converting at a 26-of-61 clip.  At the free-throw line, St. Francis was 10-for-13 (76.9 pct.), while producing a 27.3 pct. effort (6-of-22) from beyond the arc.

On the opposite end, Indiana South Bend hit at percentages of 45.6 from the field (26-of-57), 25.0 percent from three-point range (3-of-12) and 71.4 percent at the free-throw line (10-of-14), but recorded just a 6-for-22 effort from the field in the second half (27.3 pct.).

Along with Small (17 points) and Nunnally (16), Dakoda Joachim was the only other Saint to score in double figures with his 12 markers.  Damarcies Moore totaled a team-high four assists and 15 rebounds, while Joachim added 11 boards to the Saints' total of 38.

Kyle Olagbegi and Andrew Hedgepeth led Indiana South Bend with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

Up Next
St. Francis will host Saint Xavier University on Wednesday, Feb. 25 in the first round of the CCAC Tournament.  Game time is slated for 7 pm.

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