FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- For about 30
minutes, the University of Saint Francis gave No. 10 Bethel
College all it could handle. But the Pilots took charge in
the final 10 minutes to win 83-68 on Senior Day for the
Cougars. After
13 ties, William Walker broke the final tie at 51 and BC
(23-5, 11-3 MCC) outscored USF (14-15, 5-10 MCC) 17-5 to
pull out to a 68-56 lead on a Kory Lantz 3-pointer at the
6:52 mark. USF only cut the deficit to nine once in the time
remaining to finish 6-6 at home this season.
"We competed, we did
some good things, but our turnovers eventually caught up to
us as they have in all our losses this season," USF coach
Jeff Rekeweg said.
In his final game at
Hutzell Athletic Center, the Cougars' No. 6 career scorer
Mike Steinau finished with 17 points, his 15th consecutive
game in double figures. Junior Nate Bojrab, No. 1 in NAIA in
steals per game at 3.4, led USF scoring with 21 points. The
other USF senior who started and played 29-plus minutes,
finished with six points.
The underdog Cougars
got a halftime tie at 34 on a Steinau 3-pointer at the
buzzer. USF jumped out to a 41-36 lead on a Malone jumper
with 17:46 to play in the second half. A Steinau 3-pointer
pushed USF back in front 46-41 with 15:34 to play. Aaron
Gardner gave USF a 49-46 lead with a 3-point play at the
14:57 mark and after BC tied it with a Ryne Lightfoot
3-pointer, Matt Edmonds scored for USF for a 51-49 lead with
13:12 to play.
The Cougars cut the
lead to one twice -- 55-54 on an Eric Eaton putback and
57-56 on a Steinau 3-pointer with 8:58 to play. Lantz
pierced the Cougars' upset hopes with a 3-pointer at the
8:39 mark for a 60-56 lead.
USF resumes MCC play
on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at Indiana Wesleyan at 7 p.m. The game
will be broadcast on WGL 1250 AM starting at 6:45 p.m., the
Cougars' final regular season game. USF will most likely
play at Bethel a third time this season in the first round
of the MCC Tournament on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. The game will be
broadcast on WGL 1250 AM starting at 6:45 p.m.
Box score
