WASHINGTON – Saint Francis U got an early chance to measure itself against a championship-caliber squad at American Monday night. 
 
When the dust settled, the difference between the defending Patriot League Champion and 2015 preseason favorite Eagles and the Red Flash was as thin as three points.
 
American, which dealt SFU a humbling 31-point loss in Loretto a season ago, prevailed in this year's rematch, 49-46.
 
After holding Cincinnati to 52 points in its opener, the Flash relied heavily on its defense and timely scoring to stay within a point or two of American (1-1) for most of the night.  Neither squad led by more than six points in the contest, which featured five ties and 11 lead changes.
 
After a quiet opener, Malik Harmon (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) paced the Red Flash (0-2) with a game-high 20 points and four assists.  Not to be outdone, American's Jesse Reed scored 18 points, including four 3-pointers.
 
Reed and Harmon traded fire at the end — Harmon scoring a layup and adding a three-point play on either side of a Reed 3-pointer, pulling the Red Flash to within 48-46 with 1:28 left.
 
That was still the score when American's Charlie Jones hit just one of two free throws with 12 seconds left.
 
Saint Francis' Earl Brown (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) grabbed the rebound and fed to Dominique Major (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) whose shot through heavy traffic rimmed out just before the final buzzer sounded.
 
Pee Wee Gardner grabbed the board as the Eagles rode out the final moments for the win.
 
John Schoof added 14 points for the Eagles who hit 17 of 40 field goals (42.5 percent). Saint Francis shot just 38.5 percent (15-39).  Brown finished with a game-high-tying five rebounds.
 
The Flash welcomes Keystone on Thursday (7 p.m.] for its 2014 home-opener.