BOX SCORE SMITHFIELD, R.I. (March 5, 2014) – As the second-half clock hit the 9:33 mark, Bryant's Dyami Starks nailed a 3-point field goal to put his Bulldog team up by a game-high 11 points.

Saint Francis U responded with a 17-5 run – keyed by nine points from Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, Ohio/Greenview) and eight from Dominique Major (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) – to pull off the sole upset of the 2014 Northeast Conference Quarterfinals, 55-54, in a hostile Chace Athletics Center.

The Red Flash held the third-seeded Bulldogs to 1-for-10 from the field during its decisive run and held Bryant to nearly 20 points below its season average.

"I'm proud of the way our guys responded," said Flash coach Rob Krimmel.  "Bryant made a run there in a second half and the guys didn't hang their heads.  They were talking in the huddle the whole time. That's what it's going to take to move forward and I thought Ronnie played great and we really played with focus and an intensity for 40 minutes."

On a larger scale, the Frankies (10-20) dispelled years of postseason frustration by earning its first NEC Tournament win since 1995 and its first road playoff game since 1989.  SFU will travel to top-seeded Robert Morris on Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest.

A sophomore, Drinnon scored a career-high 20 points in the contest and pulled down 18 rebounds to earn his second collegiate double-double.  Three Red Flash – Greg Brown (Odenton, Md./Archbishop Spalding), Major and Earl Brown (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) – finished with eight points.

"This place is the loudest place I've ever played in," said Drinnon.  "That just goes to show what playoff basketball is all about. We came out and held our own and that's a statement for us, this program and Coach Krim."

Drinnon hit a go-ahead basket and a pair of free throws in the final 48 seconds, en route to a game- and career-high 20 points as sixth-seeded Saint Francis battled past Bryant (18-14) for the first time in three tries.  The closely fought contest saw five ties and five lead changes, including three in the final 3:37.

Bryant was up 50-48 at the final media timeout, but Major came out of the huddle for SFU with a 3-pointer. Drinnon hit a layup with 43 seconds left for a 53-52 lead, was fouled rebounding his own missed free throw and sank both for a 55-52 margin.

Saint Francis held a 28-25 edge at the intermission and improved to an impressive 10-2 when leading at the half. The Red Flash dominated Bryant on the boards to the tune of 34-25.

Dyami Starks led Bryant with 19 points.