FORT WAYNE, Ind. - On Friday afternoon the University of Saint Francis Cougars (8-6; 2-3 Crossroads) traveled to Oakland City, Indiana to compete in the Oakland City Classic with their first game against the Indiana East Red Wolves (7-6) and dropped their opening game 91-69. 

After falling behind 7-0 in the opening two minutes of the game, the Cougars kept facing the pressure in the opening minutes of the game as the Red Wolves kept their seven-point lead through the first 10 minutes of the game. Then a couple of key shots brought Saint Francis to within five points halfway through the first half. 

But during the final 10 minutes of the frame, the Red Wolves then regained the momentum and built upon their lead to go ahead by as many as 18 points in the final three minutes of the first half. 

The game went to halftime with Saint Francis trailing 42-31. 

Heading into the second half, the Cougars stayed poised to try and mount a comeback, but only managed to close to within nine points of the Red Wolves as they suffered the loss by 22. 

Throughout the game, the Cougars shot 37 percent from the floor, 24 percent from beyond the three-point line, and 73 percent from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Zane Burke led the team in scoring with 21 points, and also had five rebounds, while senior guard Dan McKeeman followed with 16 points and three rebounds of his own. 

The Cougars will wrap up the Oakland City Classic on Saturday afternoon when they face off against the host Oakland City Might Oaks (7-5) beginning at 4:00 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.