FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Xavier Newson scored a team-high 19 points and finished one rebound shy of a double-double, but the Goshen College men's basketball team could not overcome a barrage of late free throws in an 80-72 men's basketball loss at the University of Saint Francis on Saturday afternoon.

The 20th-ranked Cougars went 12-for-14 at the foul line in the final 5:09 to seal the win after Goshen led as late as the six-minute mark of the second half. USF never led by more than 10: the margin was within six points, one way or the other, for more than 36 minutes.

Devin Heath-Granger scored 15 points, including an 8-for-9 clip at the foul line, for Goshen (10-16, 3-11). Christian Grider added 13 and Kevin Phillips 10. 

Kyle Sovine scored a game-high 21 points to go with six rebounds for the Cougars (18-8, 8-6). The southpaw center sank 11 of 12 foul shots in 28 minutes on his birthday, ekeing past Evan Henry by a point and lead all players. Henry sank four 3-point shots, also a game high: Newson drained three triples, making him the only Goshen player with more than one.

Phillips opened the scoring with a bucket 25 seconds in and Goshen led through the first media timeout before a 10-0 USF run gave the hosts a five-point lead at the 13:53 mark. GC answered with a 9-0 run later in the half, with seven of the points rolling off Newson's fingers, and the teams entered halftime all square at 37.

Ties marked the first two-thirds of the second half, with the score deadlocking six times before Sovine gave the Cougars a 61-60 edge on a free throw with 6:39 to play. Phillips answered with a score in the paint on the other end, but it would be Goshen's final edge.

Henry hit a trey on the following Cougar possession to give his team a 64-62 lead; after a Goshen miss, Sovine knocked down another set of foul shots. Heath-Granger responded with two of his own, closing the gap back to 66-64 at the 3:56 mark, before USF went on an 8-0 run spanning nearly three minutes and salted the game away at the free-throw line.

Final totals in assists, blocks and turnovers were not immediately available.

The loss means that Goshen remains in a two-way tie for ninth in the Crossroads League after Grace and Marian also lost Saturday. Grace holds a one-game lead on the other two schools for the eighth and final berth in the league tournament: all three teams play four more games, with the Maple Leafs and Knights closing the season against each other in Indianapolis on Feb. 18.

Goshen makes its longest road trip of the year to visit Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Ohio at 7 p.m. Tuesday.