No. 4-Ranked Grace Upsets USF’s Senior Day
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Grace (24-3, 14-3) | 43 | 36 | 79 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) (13-14, 6-11) | 36 | 32 | 68 |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – USF Men's Hoops dropped their Senior Day finale match-up against the No. 4-Ranked Grace College Lancers, 68-79. The Cougars remain at 8th place overall in Crossroads League play. If results hold as they are now, the Cougars will travel to Winona Lake, Indiana to face the Lancers in the Crossroads League First Round of Tournament play.
The Cougars struggled to keep up with the transitional fast-break play the Gibbs brothers of Grace provide to the Lancer offense. The Lancers led by 7 at halftime and never looked back. However, the Cougars didn't lose any resilience and tried to crawl back into the contest.
Trailing into the second half 43-36, the Cougars came out strong on the defensive end and outrebounded the Lancers for the first 4-minutes of the half. USF wasn't able to cut down the lead and eventually the deficit grew to 15 points. The Cougars did have three athletes tally double-digit points, but this was not enough to stop the No. 4-Ranked team in the NAIA.
Saint Francis shot 32% from the field and 75% from the foul line. Brayton Bailey's efforts on the defensive end helped guide the Cougars to some offensive prowl. The Cougars scored 14 points from second-chance points, but overall, let Grace's Elijah Malone dominate the paint, recording 11 rebounds & 16:20 points from the paint alone.
Solid performances from the Cougars included Brayton Bailey with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Dan McKeeman was 3:6 (50%) from the three-point line & tallied 11 points and 7 rebounds. Antwaan Cushingberry ended his last home game at USF in Hutzell Athletic Center with 13 points & 2 assists.
The Cougars are now 13-14 overall and 6-11 in conference play. USF will travel to Mishawaka, Indiana Saturday February 18th to face-off with the Bethel University Pilots. Tip-off is set for 3pm at Goodman Gymnasium. The last match-up between these two teams ended in a 68-79 loss for the Cougars. The Cougars look to regain momentum this coming Saturday after a three-game losing streak.
Special shoutout to Dan McKeeman, Antwaan Cushingberry, & Evan Lowden for all of their hardwork and perserverence wearing a USF Cougar jersey. You will all be missed.
Cougar fans stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting Saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.
-Grant Ott-Large | Dani Blagojevic-
