St. Francis men drop high-scoring affair to GSU

The University of St. Francis men’s basketball team turned in a balanced scoring effort as six Saints recorded double-digit points but not enough to come away with a victory as Governors State posted a 98-91 win this Saturday (Dec. 14) afternoon in Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) play at GSU’s Athletics and Recreation Center (The ARC).

The top scorer for USF, which is now 4-6 overall and 2-4 in the CCAC this season, was Lewis Holey (JR/Sydney, Australia). The Saints’ forward netted 19 points to go with a game-high seven rebounds. Holey was joined in the double-figure scoring column by guard Eric Ting (JR/Taoyuan, Taiwan), who tallied 15 points and distributed a game-most seven assists. Guard Cole Micek (SR/Los Angeles, Calif.) pumped in 13 points, guard Carlos Tovias (JR/Corsicana, Texas) had 11 off the bench, and with 10 points each were forward Mitch Kwasigroch (SR/Manhattan, Ill.) and guard Jorden Thornton (SR/Hoffman Estates, Ill.).

Chris Pride led all players with 32 points to pace the scoring attack for Governors State, which improves to 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the CCAC. Justin Siorek poured in 21 points, Theo Owens added 13, and DeAndrey Robinson contributed 12 as four of the five Jaguar starters attained double-digit point totals. St. Francis, which shot 49.2 percent (30-61) from the floor in the contest, held a four-point (26-22) advantage midway thru the first half. The two teams would tie the score for the 10th time with 7:16 to go in the half at 29-all before the Saints snapped the deadlock on a pair of Malik Bailey (SR/Tutwiler, Miss.) free throws and led the next four minutes.

GSU managed to take a 39-37 lead at the 2:16 mark on a three-pointer and USF replied by pulling into another tie on an Eric Ting layup with 1:42 remaining on the clock. The first half would feature a 12th and final tie of 41 with 1:10 to go before halftime as Jorden Thornton drained a pair of free throws. A jumper by Carlos Tovias with a second left was good as the Saints headed into the lockerroom leading 43-41.

The second half featured a combined 105 points between the teams. The game would be tied up on three occasions in the first six minutes of the second half before a GSU basket put the hosts out in front. The teams exchanged points from there and a pair of Cole Micek free throws with under 12 minutes remaining gave the Saints a 64-61 lead. The Jaguars clawed back to draw into a 64-all tie, which marked the 16th of the game, a minute later and surged ahead albeit for another elapsed minute. Three straight jumpers, including two by USF, proceeded as the Saints led 70-69 with 8:14 left on a Lewis Holey jumper. Unfortunately, USF would never lead again as a three-point goal by Justin Siorek put GSU back in front for good at 72-70. The Saints were able to get within a deuce (76-74) approaching the five-minute mark, but then fell back into a double-digit deficit at 12 points (89-77 with 1:44 showing on the scoreboard.

The final minute of play was action-packed as USF trailed by nine points (93-84) with 49 seconds left and managed to draw within two points (93-91) on two Eric Ting free throws with 16 seconds remaining. The Saints’ bench outscored GSU 30-17 and held a 15-8 edge in second-chance points. The Jaguars converted 12 USF turnovers into 22 points while the Saints had six off nine GSU miscues. The Saints posted a 22-20 points advantage in paint area scoring.