STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (Feb. 18) – The Saint Vincent men's basketball team battled early but couldn't contain a hot shooting Franciscan University squad in the second half, falling 95-76 Wednesday night in Presidents' Athletic Conference play at Finnegan Fieldhouse.
 
With the result, Saint Vincent drops to 16-8 overall and 11-4 in PAC play, while the Barons improve to 19-5 overall and 11-4 in conference action.
 
It was a fast-paced, high-scoring contest throughout, but Franciscan took firm control after intermission. The Bearcats entered halftime with a 39-30 deficit, riding balanced scoring and aggressive defensive pressure, but the Barons outscored SVC 56-46 in the final 20 minutes to secure the decisive win.
Saint Vincent was paced by a pair of double-figure efforts off the bench. Jaden Gales scored a team-high 15 points on 4-of-11 shooting and contributed 11 rebounds while playing 30 minutes.
 
Jevontae Jones also scored 15, going 6-of-9 from the field and adding five rebounds and three assists as part of SVC's balanced attack. Maxwell Gordon chipped in eight points, while Duncan Spalding added seven points in eight minutes of action.
 
Though Saint Vincent struggled overall from three, the Bearcats made five triples on 18 attempts (27.8%) and shot 41.3% from the field (26-of-63) on the night.
 
Terek Crosby scored five, BJ Busbee tallied three, Colin Masten scored three, and Jaden Bailey added four points, rounding out the scoring for Saint Vincent. Guard Dev Ostrowski scored eight in 27 minutes, including a three-pointer as part of the SVC second-half effort.
 
Franciscan's balanced offensive attack was led by Sawyer Butler's 24 points on efficient 9-of-18 shooting, including multiple three-point makes, while Zach Oliver added 16, Anthony Covetta scored 13, and Nathan Richards chipped in nine.
 
The Barons shot a scorching 58.1% from the field (36-of-62) and a red-hot 50.0% from three (9-of-18) as they stretched the lead in the second half.
 
Despite the loss, Saint Vincent showed fight in stretches, generating 10 fast-break points and finishing with 30 bench points and 18 second-chance points behind its aggressive rebounding effort.
 
The Bearcats conclude Presidents' Athletic Conference play on Saturday, Feb. 21, traveling to Chatham University in the regular-season finale. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Pittsburgh.