FORT WANYE, Ind. – On Friday evening the University of Saint Francis Cougars (3-1) traveled to Portsmouth, Ohio to compete in the Crossroads/Mid-South Challenge with a game against the Shawnee State University Bears (2-1) and fell 85-72 for their first loss on the season.

Opening the game, the Cougars and Bears were determined to have a showdown, much like the 2021 NAIA Final Four in Kansas City. The Cougars jumped ahead to an 8-2 lead early, but the Bears stayed resilient and fought their way back to tie the game in under a minute.

The Cougars went off to rebuild a six-point lead and made it seven points on a couple of occasions eventually making it nine points seven minutes into the game.

But Shawnee State stayed resilient and fought their way back to tie the game at 31 on a three-pointer from Tre Beard with six minutes remaining in the first half. The rest of the first half went back-and-forth before the Bears held a 43-42 lead heading into halftime.

Opening the second half, both teams picked up where they left off exchanging scores with neither side able to gain an edge. But then with the score tied at 49, the Bears pulled ahead with a three-pointer and followed with a defensive stop and a layup to take their biggest lead of the game at five points.

The deficit grew to 11 points on a couple of occasions for the Cougars and it grew to 13 points with 10 minutes left in the game.

The script didn't change anymore after that as the Bears outscored Saint Francis 42-30 in the second half as the Cougars suffered their first loss of the season.

Throughout the game, the Cougars shot 45 percent from the floor, 41 percent from beyond the three-point line, and 57 percent from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Zane Burke led the Cougars in scoring throughout the game with 23 points to go along with five rebounds. Graduate guard Antwaan Cushingberry followed right behind with 22 points and three rebounds themselves.

The Cougars resume play on Saturday afternoon when they wrap up the Crossroads/Mid-South Challenge with their final game against the Cumberland University Phoenix (2-1) beginning at 1:00 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.