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Finishing touch abandons Cougars at crunch time 
 Tues., Feb. 18, 2003

    INDIANAPOLIS -- Close was of no consolation in another bitter road loss for the University of Saint Francis on Tuesday night.
    Marian College melted an 18-point second-half deficit against the Cougars and pulled out a 90-88 win in overtime. USF its seventh straight game when decided by 6 or fewer points and Cougars Coach Jeff Rekeweg found it hard to find anything positive in another frustrating defeat.
    "We gave up 13 offensive boards," Rekeweg told Joe Parson on the "Cougars Post-game Show" on WLYV 1450 AM. "We put everything in front of them and we couldn't finish. We knew (Marian) was going to battle. Like Coach (Mark) Feagler says, it's a matter of heart."
    USF (13-18, 3-10 Mid-Central Conference) has played nine games decided by 6 or fewer points, all on the road, and the Cougars are 1-8. The Cougars took a 43-24 lead late in the second half on a Cleevas Craig basket and led by 16, 46-30, at the half after shooting 63 percent (17 of 27) in the first half. Craig scored 10 of USF's 23 points in a 23-11 finish.
    Despite shooting 8-for-35 in the second half, USF had a chance to just about lock this game in the win column with 18 seconds to play. USF led 73-71, but senior guard Jontae James missed a pair of free throws. Jeremy Budreau scored on a layup with four seconds to play for a tie at 73 and USF couldn't manage a decent last-second shot.
    Overtime play saw two ties and five lead changes. Chase Holden gave USF a 75-73 lead. Nick Ankenbruck put USF in front 77-75. James gave USF a 79-78 lead and an 81-80 advantage with 1:29 to play. Tim Adams tied the game at 81 with 1:13 to play, but missed the second attempt and Budreau boarded the miss to give MC another possession. That set up Brad Metzger's 3-point shot that snapped the last of 7 ties in the game and proved to be the shot that was the difference for MC. Ankenbruck missed a shot on the USF possession, but MC maintained its lead hitting four consecutive free throws to negate a Zach Beiswanger 3-pointer and Dusty Beucler rebound bucket as time ran out.
   "You've got to have the mentality that you're going to make the right play, the right decision and finish the job," Rekeweg said. "We still had a 16-point lead and gave them every opportunity to get back in the game. When you don't finish layups or hit free throws, you've got to give (Marian) credit. I don't know what else to say, it's just so frustrating."
    MC (14-9, 8-5 MCC) only hit 3-of-6 shots in OT, but two of them were 3-pointers. MC went 6-for-8 from the free-throw line in OT. USF hit 6-of-10 shots, 2-of-2 free throws, but missed 2-of-3 shots from 3-point range.
    Holden delivered a double-double for USF with 26 points and 11 rebounds. James had 16 points and five assists, and Craig finished with 14 points, 10 in the first half.
    USF concludes regular season play on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Goshen on Senior Day at Hutzell Athletic Center.

-- GO USF --
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