The Aquinas men's basketball team regained a one-point lead with 6.6 seconds remaining, but #19 St. Francis (Ill.) responded with the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to lift the visiting Fighting Saints to the win inside the Sturrus Center on Monday night (Nov. 11). USF's trifecta overshadowed a valiant effort from Aquinas, as the home Saints led by as many as 13 points against the top-20 opponent.
AQ drops to 1-4 overall, though the Saints have now played three top-20 teams (also including #1 and #4) and another team in the 'Receiving Votes' category. USF improves to 2-0 on the year, winning both games by a combined six points.
St. Francis, which went 8-for-12 from three-point range in the second half, took a 62-61 lead on a trifecta with 2:20 to go, but Aquinas took a 64-62 advantage on a Deric Murray free throw and a tough mid-range jumper from Andrew Myers with exactly one minute to play. On the other end, USF's Cole Micek hit a three-pointer to give USF a 65-64 lead with 42 seconds left.
Both teams turned the ball over on their next possessions, but Murray put AQ back in front as he drove along the baseline and the lefty went up and under for the right-handed layup off the glass to give the home Saints a 66-65 edge with 6.6 seconds to go. St. Francis went the full length of the court and it was Micek again, as he took a pass and knocked down the buzzer-beating triple from the right corner for the win. He finished 6-of-10 from downtown for a game-high 22 points.
Aquinas shot the ball well all game long, finishing at 48.2 percent from the field, including a 51.9 percent clip in the first 20 minutes. The home Saints led 36-28 at the intermission. Overall, St. Francis shot 43.1 percent from the floor, but the visitors did their damage from beyond the arc, making 11-of-29 trifectas.
USF held a slight 35-33 rebounding advantage, though AQ dominated in the paint to the tune of a 42-22 cushion. The home Saints also scored a 40-13 bench point advantage over St. Francis, including a team-high 18 points from Davion Benton, who was 7-of-10 from the field. Benton also totaled five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks in 26 minutes.
Jesse Hillis added 10 points, seven boards, and five assists, going 4-for-8 from the field. Murray and Myles Patten each contributed eight points and five rebounds. DeShawn Lewis scored seven points and added four boards, while Beau LePage buried a pair of three-pointers for his six points.
Aquinas did not trail in the first half, racing out to a 13-2 lead, thanks to seven points from Benton in the opening seven minutes. Back-to-back layups from Murray gave AQ a 22-9 advantage at the 8:56 mark of the first half, the biggest lead of the game for either team. USF would try to whittle away at the deficit and made it 36-28 at halftime.
AQ led until the 5:11 mark of the second half, when St. Francis made three consecutive three-pointers in a 1:18 span to turn a 57-50 deficit into a 59-57 lead for the visitors. Lewis responded with a layup to tie the game at 59-all with 3:55 remaining and set the stage for a back-and-forth few minutes.
The Saints are off until Saturday (Nov. 16), when AQ hosts Madonna to begin WHAC play. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
