BOX SCORE Moraga, Calif. - The Saint Francis men's basketball team (0-1) opened its 2017-18 season in a hostile environment at No. 22 Saint Mary's (1-0), falling to the Gaels 85-68 on Saturday night.

Krimmel's Reaction

"I thought our guys competed for 40 minutes tonight and that's all that we can ask for," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "When you play a team as good offensively and defensively as Saint Mary's, your margin for error is very small. At times, we didn't execute like we needed to and it allowed them to go on a couple of runs to put us in a hole."

Turning Point

The Red Flash matched Saint Mary's bucket for bucket through the first 13+ minutes,, pulling within one at 32-31 after back-to-back three pointers from sophomore Keith Braxton with 6:34 to play in the half. The Gaels responded with the most critical run of the game, reeling off the next 12 points and taking a 46-36 halftime lead into the break. Junior Isaiah Blackmon opened the second half with a bucket at the rim, but Saint Mary's scored the next 10 points to stretch its lead to 18. The Red Flash wouldn't get closer than 16 the rest of the way.

Inside the Box Score

• Both teams were efficient offensively as Saint Mary's shot 53.8% from the field (35-65) and 46.2% from three-point range (12-26).
• Saint Francis shot 48.1% from the floor (25-52) and 33.3% from three-point range (33.3%).
• The Gaels won the rebounding battle 36-22.
• Saint Francis handled Saint Mary's defensive pressure well, turning over the ball just nine times.
• Saint Francis was aggressive attacking the rim, getting to the line 18 times to just three for Saint Mary's. The Gaels hit all three attempts while Saint Francis connected on 14-18 free throws (77.8%).
• Saint Mary's outscored the Red Flash 44-36 in the paint. Second chance points were 17-6 in favor of the Gaels.

Notes

• Junior Jamaal King led Saint Francis in scoring with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting. 
• Blackmon chipped in with 12 points, while Braxton finished with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
• Sophomore Deivydas Kuzavas made his first career start, recording seven points and five rebounds. 
• Freshman Mark Flagg impressed in his collegiate debut, hitting all three of his shot attempts for six points and two rebounds.
• Senior Malik Harmon (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) scored his first points in over a year with a corner three with 1:50 to play in the first half. He missed all of 2016-17 with an injury.
• Freshman Markus Vallien made his collegiate debut late in the second half, hitting one of two free throws for his first career point. 
• Tonight's meeting vs. No. 22 Saint Mary's was its first vs. a ranked opponent in the AP Poll since taking on No. 2 Maryland on Dec. 4, 2015. 
• Saint Francis falls to 2-55 vs. ranked opponents in the AP Poll.

Up Next

Saint Francis takes on San Francisco on Monday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET.