FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Thursday evening the University of Saint Francis Cougars (1-0) began the 2022-23 regular season on the road as they traveled to Detroit, Michigan to take on the Michigan-Dearborn Wolverines (0-1) at Matthaei Center and kicked off to a good start as they prevailed 94-81.

After falling one game short of the NAIA Sweet 16 in 2021-22, the Cougars were anxious to get back at it for a chance to return. Sophomore guard Zane Burke got the scoring started immediately with a layup and the Cougars were off and running.

The Wolverines did stay with the Cougars for the first five minutes of the first half, but then a three-pointer by freshman guard Branden Northern extended Saint Francis' lead to 20-13. Halfway through the first half the Cougars found themselves leading by 11.

Through the latter part of the first half the Cougars continued to extend their lead over the Wolverines at one point leading by 17 as they led 41-24 with less than five minutes to play in the frame. In the final couple of minutes though the Wolverines close the gap to within nine points, but a couple of made free throws by Northern with seven seconds left gave Saint Francis a 50-39 lead going into halftime.

Heading into the second half, the Cougars picked up where they left off as senior guard Dan McKeeman nailed a three-pointer to extend the lead back to 14 points. After that, a high-scoring frame ensued as both teams got hot offensively.

Saint Francis held a 71-54 lead with 10 minutes remaining and were able to fend off any big momentum shift for the Wolverines though Dearborn did score 42 points in the frame. When the buzzer sounded, the Cougars had a 13-point victory as they get off on the right foot.

Throughout the game, the Cougars shot 49 percent from the floor, 19 percent from beyond the three-point line and 75 percent from the free throw line. Graduate guard Antwaan Cushingberry led the team in scoring with 26 points and also had four rebounds and six assists while Zane Burke had himself a double-double with 23 points and a team-leading 13 rebounds and five assists.

The Cougars resume play next Thursday evening when they travel to Bloomington, Indiana for an exhibition game against the mighty Indiana University Hoosiers set to begin at 7:00 pm.

Cougar fans, stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting Saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.