Flash Points:

• Saint Francis men's basketball earned a dominant, 87-67, win at Sacred Heart on Saturday at the William H. Pitt Center.
• The Red Flash improved to 1-1 in NEC play.
• SFU had its largest NEC win since December 1, 2011 vs. Monmouth (71-49) and largest NEC road win since February 11, 2010 at Bryant (60-34).
• Freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) (27 points, 13 rebounds) and sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) (22 points, 10 rebounds) both posted double-doubles, the first SFU teammates to do that since Earl Brown and Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, Ohio/Greenview) in 2015.
• Sophomore Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) had two blocks on Saturday to move into 4th place all-time at SFU (78 career blocks).

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) and sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) both posted double-doubles to lead the Saint Francis men's basketball team to an 87-67 win over Sacred Heart on Saturday at the William H. Pitt Center.  The Red Flash cruised to the win, leading by at least 20 points for the final 10 minutes of the game.
 
The win was Saint Francis' largest NEC road win since a 60-34 victory at Bryant in February 11, 2010.  It was also the Red Flash's largest NEC victory since a 71-49 win over Monmouth on December 1, 2011.
 
Braxton earned his third double-double of his impressive rookie season, with a career-high 27 points to go with 13 rebounds.  He added four assists and made 8-of-11 shots, including three threes.  Blackmon recorded his first career double-double with a career-best 22 points and 10 rebounds, hitting 7-of-18 shots and going four-of-six from three. 
 
Braxton and Blackmon are the first SFU teammates to record double-doubles in the same game since Earl Brown (22 points, 12 rebounds) and Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, Ohio/Greenview) (12 points, 10 rebounds) on February 14, 2015 against LIU Brooklyn.
 
They are also the first SFU pair to each post 20 points in a game since Ben Millaud-Meunier (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier) (27) and Drinnon (23) against Central Connecticut State on February 6, 2016.
 
Senior guard Georgios Angelou (Halkida, Greece/Lykeio Kanithou) and sophomore guard Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) joined Braxton and Blackmon as double-figure scoreers.  Angelou also posted a career-high with 16 points, hitting six-of-nine shots, including four-of-seven from three.  He also had six assists and two steals.  King had 11 points off the bench, with a pair of threes, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. 
 
Sophomore forward Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) had two blocks on the day, giving him 19 for the season and 78 for his career.  He passed Lou Schmitt (77, 1980-84) to move into fourth all-time at SFU.  Nebo needs 27 more blocks to tie Earl Brown (2012-15) and Emmanuel Adekunle (1994-98) for third all-time.
 
The Red Flash shot 44 percent on the day, hitting 30-of-68 shots, including 13-of-30 from three (43 percent).  SFU also went 14-of-15 from the free throw line.  Saint Francis hit 45 percent of its shots in the first half on its way to 42 points in the opening half.  SFU hit six threes in the first half and seven in the second half.
 
Sacred Heart was held to 37 percent shooting, as they made 22-of-60 shots, and 29 percent from three, hitting 6-of-21.  SHU shot just 27 percent in the first half.  Guard Charles Tucker led the Pioneers with 19 points, hitting three threes, and nine assists.  Chris Robinson had 10 points off the bench.  SFU held Quincy McKnight, averaging 19 points per game entering the contest, to eight points on 4-of-15 shooting.
 
The Red Flash headed into the halftime break with a 42-28 lead, its first 40-point first half effort since November 26 at American.  It was also SFU's third halftime lead of 14 or more this year. 
 
Saint Francis shot 45 percent in the half, hitting 14-of-31 shots, including six threes.  SFU assisted on eight of the 14 made shots and out-rebounded SHU, 23-19.  Braxton nearly posted a first half double-double, with 14 points, on four-of-five shooting and four-of-four from the free throw line, and nine rebounds.  Blackmon and King each added nine points, while Randall Gaskins, Jr. (Woodbridge, Va./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) had four points.
 
Sacred Heart was held to 27 percent shooting in the half, making 8-of-30 attempts and only 3-of-13 from three.  Tucker had 10 points in the half, with two threes and four free throws.  Mario Matasovic had five points, while McKnight contributed four.
 
The Red Flash were boosted by a 15-0 run, starting with a three by Blackmon with 18:12 to go in the half.  Braxton then scored SFU's next five points, converting a three-point play and two more free throws.  Blackmon added a layup before Braxton hit a three.  The run ended on Gaskins Jr.'s jumper with 14:54 to go, with SFU leading, 17-4.
 
However, the Pioneers responded with a 10-2 run, starting on a free throw by Matej Buovac.  Tucker hit a pair of threes, with Robinson adding another to cut the SFU lead to 19-14 with 12:42 remaining.
 
King answered with his own 9-0 run, starting with a three-point play with 8:53 to go.  King hit threes on the next two SFU possessions to push the Red Flash lead to 31-16, its largest of the half, with 7:06 left.
 
A 9-3 run by Sacred Heart brought the game back within single digits, 34-25, with 4:26 left.  The run included layups by Matasovic, McKnight and Shawn Montague.
 
However, SFU scored eight of the final 11 points of the half, with a three by Braxton, two free throws by Blackmon, a free throw by Andre Wolford (Willowick, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) and a dunk by Deivydas Kuzavas (Kretinga, Lithuania/St. Mary's Ryken (Md.)), off an assist by Braxton.
 
Angelou, Blackmon and Braxton each had 13 points in the second half.  Angelou hit all five of his shots, including three threes, while Blackmon also hit three threes.  SFU maintained at least a 20-point lead for the final 10:08 of the game.
 
An early 10-2 run in the second half, pushed SFU's lead to 18, 52-34, with 15:38 left in the game.  Blackmon had five points during the run, with a three and a layup, Angelou hit a three and Braxton sunk two free throws.
 
The Red Flash then scored 20 of the game's next 34 points to gain a 24-point lead, SFU's largest of the game, with 9:01 remaining.  The stretch included a personal 6-0 run by Braxton and Angelou scoring seven straight SFU points.  Blackmon hit another three, with Nebo finishing a dunk and Gaskins Jr. hitting a jumper.
 
After SHU's Robinson and Blackmon traded a threes, the Pionners scored 9 of the game's next 14 points to close within 20, 80-60 with 3:58 left, but a three by Braxton quickly pushed the SFU lead back to 23 and helped SFU to cruise through the final minutes.
 
The Red Flash returns to DeGol Arena next Thursday, January 5, when it hosts St. Francis Brooklyn to continue NEC play.  The Red Flash and the Terriers will tipoff at 7 p.m. on NEC Front Row.