FORT WAYNE, Ind. – On Saturday afternoon the University of Saint Francis Cougars (4-3; 0-1 Crossroads) began Crossroads League play at home when they played host to the Bethel University Pilots (5-1; 1-0 Crossroads) at Hutzell Athletic Center but struggled offensively as they fell 79-68.

After a thrilling upset win over the No. 17 Indiana Tech Warriors in their season home opener on Wednesday night, the Cougars were anxious to get back out there and start conference play on a high note.

Opening the game both teams started out with a back-and-forth battle exchanging leads in the opening minutes. The Pilots then found some momentum and pulled ahead by four points within the next couple of minutes, but the Cougars managed to answer back with clutch three-pointers.

However, in the final eight minutes of the first the Pilots regained the momentum and began to build a lead over Saint Francis. Five unanswered points were scored late in the frame by Bethel as the game went to halftime with the Cougars trailing 35-26.

During the first half the Cougars were able to hold the Pilots to a three-point shooting percentage of just 14 during the frame, though the Cougars had only shot 25 percent from the floor during the frame themselves.

Heading into the second half matters didn't get much better for the Cougars at the start. The Pilots carried their momentum over and extended their lead to 13 points on a couple of occasions as the Cougars had to call a timeout just five minutes in.

But trailing 46-34 coming out of that timeout, the Cougars did not lose focus and kept battling their way through to the end.

Heading into the final minute, the Cougars had clawed back to within eight points and had found themselves back in the game but had to do everything go right to win. Unfortunately for Saint Francis, the Pilots stayed resilient and made the free throws they needed to make as the Cougars suffered the loss.

Throughout the game the Cougars shot 34 percent from the floor, 32 percent from beyond the three-point line, and 74 percent from the free throw line. Graduate guard Antwaan Cushingberry led the way with 19 points and also had four rebounds and a steal.

The Cougars resume play on Tuesday evening when they play host to the Huntington University Foresters (4-1) at Hutzell Athletic Center 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.