CHICAGO, Ill.- The Indiana University South Bend Titans (7-8, 4-3 CCAC) fell on the road to the the Saint Xavier University Cougars (11-4, 6-1 CCAC) by a final score of 79-76.
The Titans opened Wednesday's contest on the wrong end of things with the Cougars opening up to a 21-8 lead through the first 10 minutes of the first half.
Resilient as always, IU South Bend shortened that deficit to just six points at 26-20 with six minutes remaining in the first half. Trading baskets through the remainder of the period, IUSB was able to cut the Saint Xavier lead even shorter, now trailing 39-35 heading into the second half.
The Cougars started off the second half on a run, opening their lead to as much as 11 before the Titans began to mount a comeback, enough to take a one point lead at 11:33 mark of the final period thanks to a converted layup by
Deshon Burnett, good for two of his ten points of the contest.
IU South Bend and Saint Xavier traded leads until just over the seven minute mark when the Cougars took a 66-64 lead and did not look back.
The Titans continued to battle but could not regain the lead, ultimately falling to the Saint Xavier University Cougars by a final score of 79-76.
The Indiana University South Bend offense was led by
Jylen Petty and
Nick Mullen who each tied for a team high with 17 points.
Petty's 17 points came on six field goals and two three point field goals as he played in a game high 31 minutes of action while Mullen's 17 points came on nearly 60% shooting from the field (7-12) while falling just one rebound short of his seventh double-double of the season.
The last Titan to score in double figures was
Deshon Burnett who finished with 10 points.
Burnett's 10 points came came on just one missed field goal while knocking down both three point field goals that he attempted and also recording three steals.
The Indiana University South Bend Titans return to action on Saturday, January 11th, when they host the Saint Ambrose University Fighting Bees at 3:00 PM ET in the Student Activities Center.
