BOX SCORE Smithfield, R.I. - Backed by career performances from sophomore Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) and junior Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)), the Saint Francis men's basketball team (7-6, 1-1 NEC) squeaked out an 86-82 overtime victory at Bryant (1-14, 0-2 NEC) in a game it trailed by eight with 5:19 to play.

Krimmel's Reaction

"I thought Jamaal and Keith came to play from the get-go when the rest of the team was flat," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "Bryant's record isn't indicative of their team. They have some guys who can really score the ball and it gave us problems today but the group kept battling and wer rewarded at the end of the day with a win."

Turning Point

For the second straight game the Red Flash dug itself a hole with a cold-shooting first half. Saint Francis saw itself trailing 72-64 with 5:19 to play after a three-pointer from Bryant's Bosko Kostkur. King then proceeded to score seven of SFU's next nine points, pulling them within one at 74-73 with a three-pointer with 2:27 to play. Saint Francis then forced a miss and senior Malik Harmon (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) was fouled while going after the rebound. His two free throws gave SFU its first lead since 5:01 of the first half. Two more free throws from King pushed SFU's lead to 77-74 but Bryant's Adam Grant sent the game to overtime with a deep three.

OVERTIME

Bryant's Sabastian Townes opened the scoring in the overtime period but King tied the game up on the other end on SFU's first possession. A Braxton three-pointer with 3:11 to play gave Saint Francis an 82-79 lead and it was increased to five on a layup by King. The Bulldogs would cut it to 84-82 after Grant made one of two free throws with 12 seconds to play, but junior Andre Wolford (Willowick, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) iced the game with two free throws to preserve the win and close 2017 on a high note.

Inside the Box Score

• After making just 11-30 (36.7%) shots in the first half, Saint Francis responded to go 19-27 (70.4%) in the second half and 3-5 (60.0%) in overtime, finishing the game 33-62 (53.2%). Bryant shot 33-73 (45.2%) from the field for the game.
• Saint Francis made 12-of-21 three-pointers (57.1%) while Bryant connected on 12-41 (29.3%).
• Saint Francis was 8-9 (88.9%) from the free throw line while the Bulldogs finished 4-9 (44.4%) from the charity stripe.
• Bryant won the rebounding battle 39-35 but points in the point were flipped 40-34 in SFU's favor.

Notes

• Braxton and King both recorded career-highs in scoring with 29 points apiece, the most points scored in a single game by an SFU player since Ben MIllaud-Meunier scored 32 in a win over Westminster on Nov. 17, 2015.
• Braxton fell just two assists shy of a triple double with 12 rebounds and eight assists.
• Wolford added 18 points, knocking down 4-of-7 three-pointers. 
• The trio of Braxton, King and Wolford accounted for 76 of SFU's 86 points (88.4%).
• The Red Flash improved to 2-0 in overtime games this season.

Up Next

The Red Flash return home to take on LIU Brooklyn on Thursday, Jan. 4, at 7 p.m.