FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Saturday afternoon the University of Saint Francis Cougars (3-2) wrapped up their play in the Crossroads/Mid-South Challenge when they faced the Cumberland University Phoenix (3-1) but fell 69-58 as the Phoenix ran the table in the second half.

As the game got underway the Cougars found themselves trailing in the early minutes as the Phoenix built a five-point lead five minutes into the game. But the Cougars answered right back clawing their way back on a three-pointer by freshman guard Branden Northern and took the lead on a jump shot by junior guard Brayton Bailey.

But like the Cougars, the Phoenix immediately answered the call and regained their five-point lead just minutes later, but the Saint Francis offense stepped up once again with consecutive threes by senior guard Dan McKeeman and sophomore guard Zane Burke tying the game at 27 with five minutes left in the first half and eventually taking the lead back.

The final minutes of the first half went back-and-forth with the Cougars holding the upper hand ahead 35-32 going to halftime.

Opening the second half the back-and-forth battle continued as the Cougars and Phoenix exchanged leads and ties in the early minutes. But then the tide turned against the Cougars. The Phoenix broke out to score 12 unanswered points and put the Cougars in dire straits.

After that the Cougars were never able to catch back up as the Phoenix maintained a double-digit lead through most of the frame and despite the Cougars fighting back to close the deficit to seven points on a couple of occasions, they suffered the loss after being outscored 37-23 in the second half.

Throughout the game, the Cougars shot 32 percent from the floor, 20 percent from beyond the three-point line, and 66 percent from the free throw line. Leading the way for the Cougars in scoring was graduate guard Antwaan Cushingberry with 18 points along with five rebounds while going 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Freshman forward Joe Reidy led the way in rebounds with eight and chipped in with 11 points of his own.

The Cougars resume play on Wednesday evening when they come home to Hutzell Athletic Center for their season home opener against the Indiana Tech University Warriors (4-0) beginning 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.