MARION, Ind. -- After earning wins in its previous three playoff games, the University of St. Francis men's basketball team's season came to a close on Friday night when the Fighting Saints fell to NAIA No. 4-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University 71-60 in the semifinal game of the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round Marion Bracket.

USF, as the No. 4 seed in the bracket and No. 15 of 16 in the Cramer Quadrant, was seeking to upset Indiana Wesleyan as part of its journey to the NAIA National Tournament Final Site.  The Wildcats (27-5) came in as the No. 1 seed in the bracket and No. 2 in the quadrant.

Winners of 12 of its last 13 games overall, the Saints were looking to use the same game plan that won them the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament title to offset Indiana Wesleyan's national tournament plans.  An unyielding defensive performance out of the gate from St. Francis gave USF the opportunity for that agenda to register as IWU shooters connected on just 10 of their 27 first half attempts, highlighted by eight USF steals, in helping the Saints hold the Wildcats to their lowest first half shooting percentage (37.1 pct.) of the season.  The Saints however, who connected on just nine of their 30 first half attempts (30.0 pct.) - including a 0-for-6 showing from beyond the arc - were unable to balance their defense with a consistent offense which resulted in Indiana Wesleyan being able to take a 27-20 lead into the halftime break.

The intermission proved to be beneficial for the Wildcats, as IWU connected for three of its first five shots of the second half and quickly turned a 34-28 lead at the 15:40 mark into a 48-31 advantage with 10:33 remaining in the affair after connecting for four of six field goals and sinking five of six free throw attempts during the 5:07 span.  USF would not get the deficit back into single digits the rest of the night until Justen Morgan connected for a three-pointer to bring the score to a nine-point margin (69-60) with 42 seconds remaining on the clock.  Morgan's basket was part of a five-minute long 22-12 run burst from USF which included 10 points from Damarcies Moore.

USF made nine of its twelve shots as part of an overall .750 shooting clip during the 22-12 burst, while the Wildcats connected two times and was 8-of-8 at the free throw line.

Indiana Wesleyan, which was held 14.0 points below its scoring average of 85.0 points per game, finished at 43.4 percent shooting (23-of-53) for the contest compared with the Saints' 38.1 percent mark (24-of-63).  The Wildcats also connected on 19-of-26 free throws (73.1 pct.), while USF was 8-of-12 (66.7 pct.).

Indiana Wesleyan held a 39-25 rebounding advantage, as well.

The Saints did boast three players in double figures, topped by Merrick Small's 17 markers.  Moore and Joffrey Nunnally added 13 and 10 points, respectively, with Small also pulling down 10 rebounds in registering his sixth career double-double in a Saint uniform.

Caedmon Bontrager led Indiana Wesleyan with 26 points.

The Saints closed out the season at 23-8 overall with advancement to the NAIA National Tournament for the seventh time in program history.

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