WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 12, 2010) – The Saint Francis men's basketball team went toe-to-toe with the predicted Patriot League favorite, but the Red Flash were unable to withstand a late-game charge from the American Eagles and fell 62-52 at Bender Arena in the 2010-11 season opener.

The Eagles, who were stymied offensively by the Red Flash in the first half, got 24 total points from Preseason All-Patriot League selection Vladimir Moldoveanu, including a five-point spurt at the 11:05 mark of the second half that gave American its first lead of the game.  The Eagles shot 12-for-25 (48%) from the field in the second half, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.

“We're going to have to be a little more controlled,” said Saint Francis head men's basketball coach Don Friday.  “We never seemed to find a rhythm or a comfort.  There are some things to clean up.”

“But overall I was pretty happy with the way things went,” said Friday.  “We'd like to go back, hit on the positives and continue to encourage.”

According to Friday, it was the Eagles' ability to get to the free throw line – and the Red Flash's inability to convert from there – that gave American an advantage.

“We weren't getting to the line,” said Friday.  “That was the result of us either settling or going 'feast-or-famine' inside with [Mislav Jukic (Zagreb, Crotia/Life Center Acadamy)].”

The first half showed the Red Flash glimpses of something they were missing last season, as senior forward Mislav Jukic (Zagreb, Crotia/Life Center Acadamy) (Zagreb, Croatia / Life Center Academy (NJ)) displayed his grit and versatility underneath the hoop.  Jukic christened the 2010-11 season with the first points of the game, making a strong low post move to get on the board at 19:24 of the first half.  Jukic had a game-high 13 points entering the locker room at the half, including a slick three-pointer with 4:47 remaining to give the Red Flash a 10-point lead and silenced the Eagles' fans.

Jukic finished with team-highs in 21 points and seven rebounds.  He also added a block and an assist.

Jukic was part of a consistent low post presence in the first half, combining with Tony Peters (Roselle, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) (Roselle, N.J. / Seton Hall Prep) in particular to control the paint and forcing the Eagles to settle for jump shots for most of the first half.  Likewise, Saint Francis held American to just a 38.5 shooting percentage in the first half.  The Red Flash were scintillating from the floor in the first half, knocking down nearly 70 percent of their shots en route to a 36-27 lead at the halfway mark.

After the Eagles took the lead thanks to Moldoveanu, the Red Flash continued to fight back.  They pulled to within 44-42 with 8:37 left on a Jukic lay-up, and later cut the deficit to one point after Anthony Ervin (Chesterfield, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) (Chesterfield, Va. / Fork Union Military Academy) drained a three from behind the head of the key at 7:16.

Moldoveanu hit another three to make it 49-45 at 5:58, and the Flash would get no closer than six points for the remainder of the half.

“Give credit to [American head coach] Jeff Jones, they're a good, physical team,” said Friday.  “But we've got a good Colgate team coming in next week, and we're going to focus on that.”

NOTES: Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City), in his first game since the middle of the 2009-10 season, posted the second-highest point total for the Red Flash.  He finished with 10 points and also added two rebounds, two assists, and no turnovers… Peters shot 3-for-4 from the field with six points and six rebounds in just 20 minutes of play… the Eagles were selected as the preseason favorite to win the Patriot League… the Red Flash shot just 3-for-11 from the foul line.