PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team set out on Friday to become the third team in school history – and second team in a row – to win three games in the month of November when it played at Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday afternoon. UMES, however, shot 54.5 percent from the field as it defeated the Red Flash, 70-57, at Hytche Center. Senior forward Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, Ohio/Greenview) finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds, both season highs for his first double-double of the season.

Drinnon and Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) combined to make the first six field goals for the Flash in the game, and Drinnon's first three-pointer of the season gave SFU a 9-3 lead just over three minutes into play. That would prove to be the Flash's largest lead of the day. UMES came back to take a seven point lead at 28-21 after two Bakari Copeland free throws with 6:19 left in the first half.

It was around that time that the Red Flash switched to a zone defense, and it threw the Eagles off track. In the meantime, SFU scored eight straight points to take a 29-28 lead with 4:27 left in the half.

Blackmon capped the run with a three pointer off a feed by Ben Millaud-Meunier (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier). The teams traded baskets in the waning minutes. Malik Harmon (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) hit a three to give SFU a 33-32 lead, and Josh Nebo (Katy, Texas/Cypress Lakes) answered a UMES bucket with a layup of his own to make it 35-34. UMES would get the final basket of the half to lead, 36-35. Blackmon led the Red Flash with a team-high 17 points. Nebo had six points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

UMES came out on fire in the second half, hitting its first four shots while the Flash missed its first four. That gave the Eagles a 45-35 lead just three minutes into the second half thanks to an 11-0 run that Blackmon stopped with a three pointer. SFU cut the lead back to five on two occasions in the following minutes. Back-to-back layups from Basil Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) and Patrick Wrencher (West Chester, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller) made 49-44 with 10:56 to play, and Harmon hit another three pointer with 9:12 left to make it 52-47. Harmon had eight points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals. At that point, however, the Eagles went on a 10-2 run to break open the game as they held a double-digit lead for the closing minutes.

UMES became the first team to shoot 50 percent or better against the Flash since LIU Brooklyn shot 54.2 percent last Valentine's Day in Loretto. SFU entered the game with an NEC-leading defensive field goal percentage of 40.3.

Blackmon's brother, Mark, played five minutes for UMES and scored on his lone field goal attempt.

Saint Francis returns home to Loretto to face Lehigh on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.