LATROBE, Pa. (Jan. 7) – The Saint Vincent men's basketball team battled throughout Wednesday night's Presidents' Athletic Conference matchup, but the Bearcats came up short against Franciscan University, dropping an 85-72 decision at the Robert S. Carey Center.
Saint Vincent falls to 7-5 overall and 2-1 in PAC play, while Franciscan improves to 9-2 and 2-1 in league competition.
The Bearcats stayed within striking distance for much of the contest, using balanced scoring and timely contributions to keep the game competitive. Saint Vincent shot 44.1 percent from the floor (26-of-59) overall, including 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) from three-point range, and made 15-of-20 (75 percent) at the foul line.
Franciscan jumped out to an early advantage and maintained the lead throughout, connecting on 52.5 percent of its attempts (31-of-59) and finishing 11-of-17 from three (64.7 percent). The Barons led 46-31 at the break and withstood Saint Vincent's second-half surge to secure the win.
Saint Vincent's offense was led by
Jaden Gales, who poured in 13 points coming off the bench, while
Jevontae Jones added 14 points, making 6-of-9 from the field.
Maxwell Gordon (10) and
Dev Ostrowski (10) also reached double figures, with Ostrowski knocking down two threes.
Jaden Payne chipped in 10 points on efficient shooting, and
Mike Iuzzolino scored nine to round out Saint Vincent's scoring from its rotation.
Despite the loss, the Bearcats showed resilience in the second half, shooting 50 percent after the break and trimming Franciscan's lead on several occasions. Saint Vincent's defense forced turnovers and battled on the glass, but the Barons' offensive efficiency particularly from beyond the arc proved difficult to overcome.
For Franciscan, Sawyer Butler led all scorers with a dominant 38-point performance, connecting on 12-of-19 from the field and 6-of-8 from deep, while Aiden Townsend added 11 and Karl Yonkeu chipped in 10 to help pace the visitors.
The Bearcats will look to bounce back next time out as PAC play continues on Saturday, January 9 at Westminster. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. in New Wilmington on Saturday afternoon.
