NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- The Saint Francis men's basketball team played short-handed on Sunday afternoon and struggled against a tough Iona full-court press in a 78-61 loss against the Gaels.
The Red Flash were without junior forward Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist) (Washington, D.C. / Riverdale Baptist), who suffered an injury last Saturday against St. Francis-NY, for the first time in his career.
Junior Mislav Jukic (Zagreb, Crotia/Life Center Acadamy) (Zagreb, Croatia / Life Center Academy) paced SFU by scoring 17 of his 18 points in the second half, and added two rebounds and two blocks. Senior Cale Nelson (Newville, PA /Big Spring) (Newville, Pa. / Big Spring) had 14 points, seven assists and a block, senior Marquis Ford (St. Petersburg, FL /St. Petersburg) (St. Petersburg, Fla. / St. Petersburg) had eight points, six rebounds and two steals, and senior Kyle Jackson (Bolingbrook, IL /Plainfield Central ) (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Plainfield Central) tied his career high with seven points.
Kashif Pratt hit 8-of-11 field goal attempts for a game-high 22 points to lead the Gaels, while Jonathan Huffman (13), Scott Machado (12) and Trinity Fields (11) also scored in double figures. Machado dished out 10 assists for a double-double.
“We got in trouble in the first half when we let them get too many easy buckets,” said Saint Francis head coach Don Friday. “We came out in the second half with a better sense of urgency and got the big fellow inside involved (Mislav Jukic (Zagreb, Crotia/Life Center Acadamy)). It's disappointing because this is a ballgame we can win. We aren't going to make excuses because Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist) isn't here. Excuses have no place in our program. We're not going to feel sorry for ourselves. We'll regroup and get ready for St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night.”
Both teams struggled from the field early in the first half, combining for just one field goal over the first six-plus minutes. Iona jumped out 11-1, and never looked back. The Gaels finished the first half on a 9-0 run to take a 36-18 lead into the break.
The Red Flash hit 7-of-21 field goal attempts in the first 20 minutes, but were just 3-of-12 (25 percent) from long distance. Jackson tied his career high with seven points in the first half, while Nelson had six points and four assists.
Pratt had nine points in the first half for Iona.
Trailing 47-22, Saint Francis went on a 14-0 run to turn its largest deficit of the game into a 47-36 game. The Red Flash had the ball with a chance to make it a single-digit game, but a shot attempt rolled out of the rim, and Iona responded with a 6-0 run.
SFU dropped to 4-6 on the season, and will look to get back on track with a trip to St. Bonaventure. The tipoff is 7 p.m. on Wednesday night, and can be heard live on The EDGE 1400 AM, or via the internet at www.goRedFlash.com.
