Flash Points:

• SFU men's basketball dropped a 77-65 decision at Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday at Stratis Arena.
• The Red Flash outscored FDU, 39-35, in the second half, with Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) scoring 13 of his team-high 15 points in the half..
• Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) added 14 points, while Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) had 11 points and eight rebounds.
• SFU continues its NEC opening weekend on Saturday at Sacred Heart for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff.

HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team dropped a 77-65 decision at Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday at Stratis Arena to open NEC play.  The Red Flash outscored the Knights, 39-35, in the second half, but a couple runs in the first half helped FDU to maintain the lead.  Saint Francis is now 3-9 overall and FDU improved to 3-9.
 
Freshman guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) led the Red Flash with 15 points, including 13 in the second half, five rebounds, two assists and three steals.  Braxton hit four-of-seven shot attempts in the second half.  Sophomore guard Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) contributed 14 points, hitting a trio of threes, with 11 of his 14 coming in the first half.  He also had three steals to go with three rebounds and two assists.  Sophomore forward Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) had 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. 
 
Freshman Randall Gaskins Jr. and senior Georgios Angelou (Halkida, Greece/Lykeio Kanithou) had nine and eight points, respectively, with Angelou hitting two threes.
 
Saint Francis shot 39 percent from the floor, hitting 24-of-62 shots, including nine threes.  It was SFU's fourth game this season hitting nine or more threes.  SFU shot 43 percent in the second half, making 13-of-30 shots.  SFU collected nine steals, forcing 17 turnovers by Fairleigh Dickinson.
 
The Knights shot 55 percent for the game, making 34-of-62 attempts, with seven threes.  FDU also held the advantage in the paint, outscoring SFU, 48-24, inside the key.  The Knights had the upper hand on the glass, with 38 rebounds, eight more than SFU.
 
Junior guard Darian Anderson led the Knights with 18 points, on 8-of-15 shooting, and added five rebounds and three assists.  Sophomore forward Mike Holloway contributed 16 points, on 8-of-10 attempts, and three rebounds.  Sophomore Malik Miller had 10 points and three rebounds off the bench.  Earl Potts Jr. added seven points and nine rebounds.
 
Saint Francis trailed 42-26 at halftime.  The Red Flash shot 34 percent from the field, hitting 11-of-32 attempts, but went 3-of-13 from three after connecting on three of its first four attempts from behind the arc.  King led SFU with 11 points in the half, making four-of-seven shots, and grabbed two rebounds and a steal.  Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) added five points, while Nebo had four points and five boards.  Angelou, Braxton and Gaskins Jr. each had two points in the half.
 
The Knights shot 54 percent in the half, making 19-of-35 shots, including four threes.  Anderson led FDU with eight points, while Stephan Jiggetts had six points and four assists.  Holloway, Ghassan Nehme and Miller each contributed six points.
 
The Red Flash started the game on a 12-5 run, started on a dunk by Nebo, off an assist by Blackmon.  King hit a pair of threes during the run, including a pull-up three on a fastbreak.  Nebo added a jumper and Gaskins Jr. also hit a jumper.
 
A dunk by Miller ended the SFU run, and after a three by SFU's Blackmon, the Knights started a 25-2 run.  Anderson had eight points for FDU during the run, with Darnell Edge contributing five and Jiggetts adding four.  Holloway had a pair of dunks, with Miller adding another dunk and Kaleb Bishop adding a layup to help FDU build a 32-17 lead with 5:27 to go in the half.  A layup by Blackmon ended the run.
 
With 1:30 to go in the half, Nehme hit back-to-back threes to stretch the FDU lead to 42-23, but a layup and a free throw by King on a three-point play cut the FDU lead to 42-26 at the end of the half.
 
A three by King sparked an 11-0 run in the second half for the Red Flash.  Angelou added a three and Gaskins converted a steal into a three.  The run concluded on a layup by Braxton to bring SFU within seven, 56-49, with 11:18 to go in the game. 
 
However, the Knights responded with an 11-2 run to get its lead back to 16 points, 67-51, with 6:14 remaining.  Anderson had five points during the run, with a three and a layup.  Potts Jr. and Holloway each contributed layups and Bishop hit a pair of free throws.
 
The Red Flash scored 14 of the game's final 24 points.  Angelou, Braxton and Scott Meredith (Pilot Mountain, N.C./Hargrave Military Academy (Va.)) each hit threes.  Nebo added a dunk and three free throws.
 
Saint Francis continues its opening weekend of NEC play on Saturday when it visits Sacred Heart for a 3:30 p.m. tipoff on NEC Front Row.  Sacred Heart dropped a 78-67 decision against Robert Morris on Thursday and is now 5-9 this season.