Red Flash survive Niagara, 93-87

BOX SCORE Niagara, N.Y. - The Saint Francis men's basketball team (4-5) was in jeopardy of blowing its second double-digit lead in its last three games after surrendering a 22-point second-half lead to Niagara (4-6), but the Red Flash dug in its heels down the stretch to pull out a 93-87 overtime, road victory over the Purple Eagles. Junior Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) scored a career-high 26 points, 20 of which came after halftime, and sophomore Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) added 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Krimmel's Reaction

"A lot of credit has to go to Niagara," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "They can really score the basketball and came after us in the second half. I am most proud of this group for sticking together and using the Stony Brook game as a learning experience. We showed tremendous poise to get the game to overtime and then put them away in overtime by making free throws and getting stops. It was a really good road win against a good team in a difficult environment.

Turning Point

Two free throws from King at 15:56 of the second half gave SFU its largest lead of the game, 60-38. The Purple Eagles proceeded to go on a 29-4 run over the next 8:34 to take a 67-64 lead with 7:22 remaining. King put an end to the bleeding with a layup to pull SFU within one, then junior Scott Meredith (Pilot Mountain, N.C./Hargrave Military Academy (Va.)) knotted the game at 69-69 with a three-pointer. Trailing 74-73, junior Andre Wolford (Willowick, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) hit his third three-pointer of the game to give Saint Francis a 76-74 lead with 1:45 remaining. The Purple Eagles tied it at the other end but King responded with his best move of the day, breaking a Niagara defender's ankles with his dribble before knocking down a 15-foot pull-up to put SFU back in front by two with 21 seconds. A layup by Niagara's Matt Scott with six seconds left sent the game to overtime where Saint Francis scored the first seven points, five of which came from King. Niagara wouldn't get closer than five the rest of the period.

Inside the Box Score

Saint Francis shot 33-63 (52.4%) from the field and 8-15 (53.3%) from three-point range for the game.
Niagara made 30-68 (44.1%) of its shots and 9-26 (34.6%) of its three-pointers.
Fouls mounted up against the Red Flash in the second half. Niagara made 18-31 (58.1%) of its free throws, while the Red Flash knocked down 19-23 (82.6%).
Braxton tied his season-high with 12 boards as the Red Flash outrebounded the Purple Eagles 43-35.
Points in the paint were 44-28 for Saint Francis as the Red Flash attacked the Niagara basket off the dribble all game long. Second chance points finished 15-7 in favor of SFU.
For the game, the lead changed hands nine times, seven of which occurred over the final six minutes.

Notes

King's 26 points snapped his previous career-high of 23 set on Jan. 14 of last season at Mount St. Mary's.
Braxton now leads the team with four double-doubles on the season and 16 for his career. It was his third 20-point game of the season and the eighth of his career.
Wolford knocked down at least three three-pointers for the sixth straight game. He is 25-44 (56.8%) from distance during the stretch.
Sophomore Deivydas Kuzavas (Kretinga, Lithuania/St. Mary's Ryken (Md.)) chipped in with eight points and five rebounds.
Nine Red Flash players found the score sheet and five made three-pointers.
Saint Francis is 4-1 in games where it secures more rebounds and scores more points in the pain than its opponents.
Saint Francis was 1-2 in overtime games last season but wins its first of the 2017-18 campaign.
The last time Saint Francis had two players record 20 or more points in the same game was Mar. 1 of last season. Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) scored 24 and Braxton scored 22 in a 100-78 win over Bryant in the NEC Quarterfinals.