Men's Basketball Drops Non-Conference Matchup to Saint Francis

(Rochester, MI)-- The Cleary Cougar men's basketball team was back in Rochester, Michigan for game two of the Faith Works Classic, hosted by Rochester Christian University.  Cleary took on the Saint Francis Cougars in Saturday afternoon's game.

Bennie Crenshaw Jr. would score the game's first points after picking the pocket of a USF player, and converting the fast break layup.  An Austin Santure free throw, and a Chris Williams layup gave Cleary a 5-2 early lead.  After Saint Francis tied the game on an and-one, USF would go on a 19-4 run to build a 24-9 lead.  Cleary would fight back to cut the deficit to eleven points with just over eight minutes to play in the first half, and the two teams would trade baskets the until halftime, with Cleary trailing by a 44-32 scoreline.

Saint Francis would storm out of the half, and the deficit was twenty points by the 15:00 minute mark.  Saint Francis continued to make plays down the stretch, and Cleary would suffer the defeat with a 90-60 final score. 

Bennie Crenshaw Jr. led CU with 16 points to go with 5 rebounds, while Chris Williams added 10 points.  Amare Slaughter was the only other Cougar in double-digits, scoring 10 points off the bench for Cleary.

The loss drops CU's record to 1-3 on the season.  Cleary will have a week off before returning to play next Saturday, November 16, when they play their first home game of the season against the Goshen College Maple Leafs at Gannon Gymnasium.  The game is scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM.