CHICAGO - Saint Xavier University used a 19-2 run in the final 10 minutes of the first half to take a 10-point halftime lead and then pulled away from University of St. Francis in the second half and defeated the Saints, 80-50, in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at the Shannon Center.

USF (6-18, 2-4) controlled the first 10-plus minutes of the game and held a 20-15 lead after an Andrew Fair (Olive-Harvey College/Chicago, IL) jumper at the 9:51 mark of the half. But the Saints then went over eight-and-one-half minutes without a field goal and managed just a pair of free throws as the Cougars put together the 19-2 spurt that changed the complexion of the game.

SXU led by 10 points at the half at 36-26 but the Saints still felt that they were in the game. USF did manage to cut the margin to seven points at 37-30 after a pair of Greg Leavell (Schoolcraft College/Farmington Hills, MI) layups but that was as close as the Saints would get. SXU put together a 13-2 run to open a 50-32 lead and USF would get no closer than within 14 points of the Cougars the rest of the way.

"I don't think that we ever know why some things happen," said USF coach Pat Sullivan after the game. "If you look at the way we played three nights ago against Robert Morris (a 67-58 loss at home) and at what we did today, you would swear it was two totally different teams.

"After 44 years of coaching," continued Sullivan, "I have finally come to the realization that things like this just happen and you can't even try to explain them."

Sullivan liked some of what he saw in the first half and didn't expect such a collapse after halftime.

"Even with the big run they had at the end of the first half, it was still just a 10-point ballgame at halftime," said Sullivan. "Shoot, in college basketball today 10 points to make up is practically nothing. But you can't make the errors we made in the second half and expect to compete with a good team on the road.

"I told the kids after the game that there are only two things we can do after a game like this," continued Sullivan. "One, we have to forget what just happened. It's over and there is nothing we can do to change it. And two, we have to start preparing for our next game. So, we'll put this one behind us and start working on the game plan for Olivet Nazarene."

Leavell led USF with 12 points and he shared team rebounding honors with 5 boards. Reserve center Bruce Watson (Schoolcraft College/Detroit, MI) finished with 11 points and 5 boards and Fair reached double figures with 10 points. Freshman forward Michael Cole (Manley H.S./Chicago, IL) also had 5 rebounds. USF shot just 35 percent from the floor (18-of-51) and made only one 3-pointer in 9 attempts.

USF is off until Saturday when it plays host to Olivet Nazarene at 7:30 p.m., in the second half of a women's and men's doubleheader at the Recreation Center.