Cougars Rebound to Win by 14 Against Mighty Oaks Behind McKeeman's 35 Points

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - On Saturday afternoon the University of Saint Francis Cougars (9-6; 2-3 Crossroads) wrapped up their play in the Oakland City Classic with a game against the Oakland City University Mighty Oaks (7-6) and prevailed 75-61.

After falling behind 11-6 to open the game, the Cougars remained poised and stayed with the Mighty Oaks through the first nine minutes of the game, and eventually took the lead on a layup by senior guard Dan McKeeman to go ahead 18-17 nine minutes into the game.

Saint Francis still led by one midway through the first half, and through the final 10 minutes of the frame had the momentum on their side and began to build a lead.

The Cougars went on to score 10 unanswered points to build a double-digit lead over Oakland City, and extended it to as big as 15 points as the game went to halftime with Saint Francis leading 45-30.

Heading into the second half, the Cougars didn't skip a beat. They extended their lead to 21 points in the first couple of minutes of the frame and kept pressing while making key stops on defense.

During the remainder of the second half, the Cougars were in full control and never saw their lead shrink to as little as nine points the rest of the way as Saint Francis prevailed by 14 to go 1-1 over the weekend.

Throughout the game, the Cougars shot 46 percent from the floor, 27 percent from beyond the three-point line, and 62 percent from the free throw line. Dan McKeeman led the way for the Cougars scoring a career-high 35 points while also recording four rebounds and a steal. 

The Cougars will now have a couple of weeks off before resuming Crossroads League play on Wednesday, Janaury 4 against the Mount Vernon Nazarene University Cougars (5-7; 0-4 Crossroads) at Hutzell Athletic Center beginning at 7:00 pm. 

Cougar fans, stay updated with all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting Saintfranciscougars.com or by downloading the Saint Francis Cougars app.