Loretto, Pa. – Junior Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O’Connell (Va.)) and sophomore Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) each scored 27 points to help the Saint Francis men’s basketball team (9-6, 3-1 NEC) erase a 13-point first half deficit to defeat St. Francis Brooklyn (5-11, 2-2 NEC), 91-87.
Krimmel’s Reaction
“St. Francis Brooklyn is a well-coached team that does a good job of taking you out of a rhythm on the offensive end,” said head coach Rob Krimmel. “We made some adjustments at halftime and Keith and Jamaal came out and asserted their will on the game. It feels really good to earn two wins on our first weekend of home league games.”
Turning Point
The Red Flash trailed 39-31 at the half, shooting just 35.5% from the field in the first period, but scored 60 second half points on 66.7% shooting to get the win. After the Terriers opened the second half with a corner three, Saint Francis reeled off 12 of the game’s next 14 points to pull within one, 44-43. A transition layup by Braxton with 13:35 gave SFU its first lead at 50-49. The Terriers would regain the lead at 53-52 before SFU ripped off a pivotal 14-0 run to take control of the game and lead 66-53. Freshman Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) was instrumental during the run, starting it with a runner off the glass and closing it with a layup.
Inside the Box Score
- Saint Francis overcame its slow first half to shoot 29-58 (50.0%) for the game. The Terriers made 33-61 total shots (54.1%).
- The Red Flash finished 6-18 (33.3%) from three-point range, while St. Francis Brooklyn connected on 11-31 (35.5%) triples.
- Saint Francis earned its way to the line 31 times, knocking down 27 (87.1%). The Terriers made 10-12 (83.3%).
- Saint Francis was dominant on the glass, finishing with a 36-24 rebounding edge. Fifteen of the rebounds were on the offensive end, which is a season-high.
- The offensive rebounding led to an advantage in second chance points to the tune of 20-5.
Notes
- Braxton moved into the top 10 in all of Division I with his ninth double-double. He finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds.
- King made 8-12 shots to tie Braxton with a game-high 27 points. He is averaging 26.3 ppg during SFU’s three-game win streak.
- Flagg tied his career-highs in scoring with 11 and rebounding with six. Five of his rebounds came on the offensive glass.
- Saint Francis scored 60 points in the second half, its highest scoring half of the season and most since scoring 65 in the second half vs. Chatham on Nov. 19, 2016.
- The last time SFU won a game in which it trailed by 10 or more points was on Feb. 4 of last season when it overcame a 12-point deficit to win at LIU Brooklyn, 80-78.
- Saint Francis is now 6-1 when outrebounding its opponents.
- The Red Flash are 6-1 over its last seven games.
- Krimmel ties Pete Lonergan (1973-78) for fourth in school history in career wins with 70.
- Saint Francis improved to 6-0 at DeGol Arena this season.
Up Next
Saint Francis plays first-place and undefeated Robert Morris (10-7, 4-0 NEC) on Thursday, Jan. 11, at the PPG Paints Arena at 7 p.m.