FORT WAYNE, Ind. - On Sunday afternoon the University of Saint Francis Cougars (6-4; 0-2 Crossroads) completed their weekend in Kingsport, Tennessee with a game against the Union College Bulldogs (8-1) and came away with an 83-72 victory to complete a 2-0 weekend. 

The Bulldogs came into Sunday's game a perfect 8-0 to start the 2022 season, and they jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over the Cougars in the opening minutes. But in just under two minutes, Saint Francis went on a 9-2 run to take a 9-6 lead and set the tone for the remainder of the game.

Both teams did go back-and-forth for the next several minutes as the game was tied at 18 halfway through the first half. But then the Cougars found the momentum, led by four consecutive made free throws by graduate guard Antwaan Cushingberry as Saint Francis went on to score 13 unanswered points in the latter part of the frame. 

The remainder of the first half saw the Cougars build upon their lead at one point ahead by 20, and took a 51-33 lead going into halftime.

Heading into the second half Saint Francis extended the lead to 24 points though the Bulldogs hung in there and battled their way back to close the margin to 13 points as the Cougars still led 63-50 with 10 minutes remaining.

In the game's final minutes the Cougars were able to make several more key stops on defense and never let the lead get lower than eight points as they earned the victory and handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the season.

Throughout the game the Cougars shot 46 percent from the floor, 27 percent from beyond the three-point line, and 76 percent from the free throw line. Cushingberry led the Cougars throughout the game in scoring with 29 points, and also had four assists and four rebounds. Meanwhile, senior guard Dan McKeeman chipped in with 16 points of his own, and junior guard Brayton Bailey had a team-leading nine rebounds.

The Cougars resume play on Wednesday evening when they travel to Goshen, Indiana to resume Crossroads League play against the Goshen College Maple Leafs (1-6; 0-2 Crossroads) 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.