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St. Francis (N.Y.) beats Columbia 59-53

Jan 12, 2010 - 2:42 AM NEW YORK(AP) -- Akeem Bennett scored 25 points and St. Francis (N.Y.) beat Columbia 59-53 on Monday night.

Ricky Cadell scored 14 points for the Terriers (5-9), who had lost three of their last four games - all by eight points or less - before Monday.

Columbia led most of the first half and held a 25-14 lead with 19:11 to play in the game. The Terriers whittled away at the lead and tied the game on a layup by Bennett with 9:52 remaining. Two free throws by Bennett gave the Terriers a 56-47 lead with 56 seconds to play.

The Terriers made 10 of 14 free throws in the final two minutes to preserve the win.

Noruwa Agho led the Lions (6-8) with 21 points, his eighth 20-point game of the season. The Lions entered the game as the No. 1 3-point shooting team in the nation at 46.8 percent, but made only 26.1 percent from behind the arc (6 of 23).