TEANECK, N.J. (Feb. 19, 2011) – Sophomore
Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) hit a career-high seven 3-pointers and the Saint Francis men's basketball team shot 54.5 percent from the field to defeat Fairleigh Dickinson 77-65 on Thursday night at Stratis Arena.
The Red Flash snapped a six-game losing streak and remained in contention for a Northeast Conference playoff spot by improving to 8-19 overall and 6-10 in the league.
Shannon finished with 27 points and hit on 7-of-10 three-point attempts. His seven trifectas are tied for fourth for a single-game in program history, and marks the first time a Red Flash hit seven or more since Rahsaan Benton hit eight on Jan. 15, 2005. Shannon also moved in to a tie for 10th with Harkeem Dixon with 66 three-pointers in a season.
Sophomore
Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) had 11 points, 5 assists and 1 block, and freshman
Scott Eatherton (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) added 10 points and 4 rebounds.
John Galvin and Mike Scott had 16 points and 15 points, respectively, for the Knights.
SFU will return to action at 7 p.m. on Thursday night when it plays host to Mount St. Mary's at DeGol Arena.
“This was a good team win for us tonight,” said Saint Francis head coach Don Friday. “Our guys played hard and smart and made big plays when they needed to. I was happy to see some leadership emerge in some of our timeouts. We will enjoy this tonight and get right back to fighting for a playoff spot on Sunday.”
After the Red Flash took a 34-28 lead into halftime, Fairleigh Dickinson came out of the break on a 17-5 run, including a 7-0 spurt within a 29-second span, to take a 43-39 lead, its largest of the game.
The Knights led 46-43 when Johnson drove to the hoop for a layup and Shannon followed with a 3-pointer to give SFU the lead for good. It sparked a 15-2 as the Red Flash jumped out 58-48 with 8:40 to play. Fairleigh Dickinson got as close as five, 66-61, with 2:41 to play, but Shannon hit his seventh 3-pointer to put an end to any comeback by the Knights.
The Red Flash shot 54.5 percent (24-of-44) from the field, and 55.0 percent (11-of-20) from long distance. FDU shot 40.4 percent (21-of-52) and just 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from outside the arc.
Shannon hit back-to-back 3-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor and Eatherton hit another for a 9-0 run that gave SFU a 27-16 lead with 4:26 to go in the first half. However, the Knights finished the period on a 12-7 run to pull within 34-28 at the break.
The Red Flash shot 46.2 percent (12-of-26) in the period, while FDU hit at 36.0 percent (9-of-25). Saint Francis had 11 assists, four by Johnson, and just three turnovers at halftime.
For periodic men's basketball updates on Twitter, follow Director of Athletic Communications Bob Volkert at SFUVolkert.
