BOX SCORE Loretto, Pa. - Six players scored in double figures and five recorded 15 or more points as the Saint Francis men's basketball team (3-3) improved to .500 with a 100-89 victory over American on Wednesday night.

Krimmel's Reaction

"First off, you have to give a lot of credit to American. They kept battling and were able to make a run at us. Those are the type of things you can't emulate in practice and I am glad our guys got to experience it tonight. Nobody pointed fingers at each other and we came together as a group to finish off the game. I am proud of the effort. We had balanced scoring, shared the ball well and got key minutes across the board."

Turning Point

The Red Flash shot 67.7% from the field and 50.0% from three-point range in the first half to build a 13-point lead. The team matched its energy early in the second half, opening up its largest lead of the game at 71-48 after a Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) layup with 14:41 to play. The Eagles made their run at the Red Flash in the ensuing minutes. A three-pointer by Larry Motuzis with 7:44 remaining in the ballgame capped a 13-0 American run and made the score 76-69. A pull-up jumper from Braxton and a three-pointer from junior Andre Wolford (Willowick, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) helped Saint Francis regain a double digit lead with 4:24 to go. The Eagles wouldn't get any closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Inside the Box Score

• Saint Francis made 36-of-60 shots (60.0%) for the game, its highest field goal pct. for a single game this season and its highest since shooting 60.7% in a 100-78 win over Bryant in last season's NEC Quarterfinal.
• American was also impressive from the field making 33-of-59 shots (55.9%).
• The Red Flash buried 10 threes for the second consecutive game, going 10-of-23 (43.5%) from behind the arc.
• American connected on 8-of-24 (33.3%) three-point attempts.
• The Red Flash knocked down 18-of-20 free throws (90.0%) and are shooting 77.7% from the charity stripe this season. American made 15-of-22 free throws (68.2%).
• Saint Francis won the rebounding battle for the fourth consecutive game, holding a 33-21 advantage. Second chance points were 15-5 in favor of the Red Flash.
• The Red Flash got out in transition and outscored the Eagles 19-4 in fast break points.
• Saint Francis led for 35:44 and never trailed by more than two points.

Notes

• Braxton recorded his second consecutive double-double and his third of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
• Wolford, making his first start of the season, drained 5-of-8 three-pointers on his way to a career-high 19 points.
• Sophomore Deivydas Kuzavas also enjoyed a career night with a personal-best 16 points to go along with nine rebounds. He was 6-7 from the field.
• Junior Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) made 3-of-5 from deep en route to 17 points and a season-high six assists.
• Sophomore Randall Gaskins Jr. netted a season-high 15 points on 6-9 shooting. 
• Freshman Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) contributed a career-high 11 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting.
• The Red Flash have won three consecutive games over American.
• Saint Francis is 3-1 on the season when making seven or more three-pointers.

Up Next

Saint Francis heads to Stony Brook for an away game on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m.