JOLIET - Olivet Nazarene University used a 14-0 run late in the first half to open up a close game and the No. 11 Tigers did not let the Saints recover as they handed University of St. Francis an 81-53 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference loss at the Recreation Center Saturday night.

The Saints (6-19, 2-5) battled the ranked Tigers (17-7, 6-1) for the first 12-plus minutes of the game and found themselves trailing by just four points at 21-17 with 7:48 left until halftime. That is when Olivet stepped into a higher gear and reeled off 14 unanswered points to push its margin to 35-17 with 3:29 remaining in the opening stanza.

The lead was 17 at 42-25 at halftime and the Tigers quickly pushed it to 20 at 48-28 just four minutes into the second half. USF could get no closer than within 16 points the rest of the way.

Junior point guard Andrew Fair (Olive-Harvey College/Chicago, IL) enjoyed his fourth straight strong game as he led the Saints with 13 points. Fair made 5-of-8 shots from the floor and added 5 assists. Junior forward Greg Leavell (Schoolcraft College/Farmington Hills, MI) added 10 points off the bench and also had 5 assists. Freshman forward Michael Cole (Manley H.S./Chicago, IL) led the Saints with 6 rebounds and added 8 points to his line.

The Saints played the game under the direction of assistant coach Jack Hermanski. Head coach Pat Sullivan was home resting after undergoing medical procedures this past week. He was given a clean bill of health from his physicians and will return to work next week. Sullivan announced his retirement from USF after 34 years as head coach - effective at the end of the season - in late January.

USF is off until next Saturday, Feb. 20, when it plays host to Holy Cross College in a CCAC matchup at the Recreation Center. It will mark the final Saturday home game for Sullivan and the Saints will honor him in a postgame ceremony. All of Sullivan's former players are invited to come back and help honor their coach and take part in a postgame reunion.