Men's Basketball Concludes Illinois Trip with Loss to Saint Francis
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hastings (1-6) | 37 | 29 | 66 |
|
St. Francis (IL) (6-1) | 34 | 48 | 82 |
(Joliet, IL) – In their second and final game of the USF Thanksgiving Classic, the Hastings Broncos led by three at halftime, but the Saint Francis Fighting Saints outscored the Broncos 48-29 in the second half to win 82-66 on Sunday.
Sophomore Hunter Hill provided great energy to start the game, fighting through contact to finish the and-one, then made a jumper off a pass from sophomore David Hageman as the Broncos trailed 7-5 early on. Trailing 14-8, sophomore guard Quinn Johnson came off the bench and drilled a three on his first offensive play with 14:47 left in the opening half.
Saint Francis grew their lead to 23-18, then shortly after a couple of Hageman free throws, Johnson knocked down his second three of the half. The Cougars rallied to take a 28-28 lead with 5:49 left in the half, though that was short-lived.
Freshman Maverick Binder found Hill for a three, then an empty Fighting Saints possession resulted in a couple free throws from sophomore Ben Boudreau. Binder later attacked the rim and scored to go up six with 2:26 left. Saint Francis was able to trim the lead to one, but Binder was able to push the lead back to three at 37-34 with a layup right before halftime.
The Broncos shot 52 percent from the field and 46 percent from three, while outrebounding the Fighting Saints 14-11 in the half. Johnson and Hill led the team in scoring with eight each in the first half. Hageman had a strong first half also with seven points and five rebounds.
The two teams traded baskets to start the second half, as after Saint Francis took a one-point lead, junior DaRon Hall answered back with a jumper. A Fighting Saint three on the next possession put them up two, but junior David Ogunlade tied it up at 41 with 14:26 left in the game. Hall would later add two free throws after Saint Francis went up two to tie it again at 43.
From there, Saint Francis went on a 17-8 run to make it 60-51. Boudreau was able to make three of four free throws to keep the Broncos within striking distance at 62-56 with 4:31 left, but two free throws and back-to-back threes in less than two minutes by the Fighting Saints put the game out of reach at 70-56 with 2:51 left. Saint Francis would eventually close out the game to win 82-66, as they outscored Hastings 48-29 in the second half.
Johnson led the Broncos in scoring with 15 off the bench, along with five rebounds. Hageman had 10 points and six rebounds, while Hall had nine points and Hill and Boudreau each had eight points.
Up next, Hastings will have about a week off until they host Dakota Wesleyan at 3:45pm on Saturday, Dec. 7.
