Flash Points:

• SFU men's basketball fell 81-62 against Mount St. Mary's on Saturday at DeGol Arena.
• The Mount broke the game open with a 24-0 run in the second half.
• The Red Flash is now 11-14 overall and 8-6 in NEC play.
• Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) led SFU with 14 points and six rebounds, with Randall Gaskins Jr. and Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) each contributing 10 points.

LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team dropped an 81-62 decision against Mount St. Mary's on Saturday at DeGol Arena.  The Mount used a 24-0 run in the second half to pull away for the win.  The Red Flash fell to 11-14 overall and 8-6 in the NEC, while Mount St. Mary's improved to 14-13 overall and 12-2 in conference play.
 
Freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) led the Red Flash with 14 points, making six-of-nine shots, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals.  Fellow rookie Randall Gaskins Jr. had 10 points, hitting five-of-seven looks, and two steals, while sophomore Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) had 10 points, on four-of-eight shooting, and four assists.
 
The Red Flash hit 56 percent of its shots, making 26-of-46 looks, including 5-of-11 from three (45 percent).  SFU was five-of-seven from the free throw line.  The Red Flash shot a season-best 81 percent in the first half, making 17-of-21 shots, but hit only 36 percent of its shots in the second half.
 
Mount St. Mary's shot 52 percent for the game, hitting 33-of-64 attempts, including 14-of-31 from three (45 percent).  Mount hit 53 percent of its shots in the first half and 50 percent in the second half.  Mount won the battle on the glass, 29-25, including 11 offensive rebounds.  Mount forced 21 SFU turnovers, turning those into 29 points.
 
Sophomore Elijah Long led the Mount with 25 points, on 10-of-14 shooting including five threes, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals.  Freshman Miles Wilson had 20 points, going 8-of-16 from the floor with three threes.  Junior Greg Alexander hit five threes for 15 points, while sophomore Mawdo Sallah had 10 points and seven rebounds. 
 
The Red Flash trailed 42-38 at halftime despite shooting a scorching 81 percent in the first half.  SFU hit 17-of-21 shot attempts, including two-of-four from three. SFU scored 22 of its 38 points in the paint and got 13 points on fastbreaks. 
 
Braxton and Gaskins each had 10 points in the half to lead SFU.  Braxton hit four-of-five shot attempts, while Gaskins hit all five of his shots.  Braxton added three rebounds, a block and a steal and Gaskins had two steals.  Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte), King and Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) each had four points with King adding four assists.
 
The Mountaineers shot 53 percent in the half, making 17-of-32 looks, including 7-of-17 from three (41 percent).  Long led Mount with 15 points, hitting six-of-eight shots including three triples, and Wilson added 10 points.
 
Mount St. Mary's scored six of the first eight points of the game, but a layup by Nebo sparked a 15-4 SFU run which results in a 17-10 advantage with 11:45 to go in the half.  Nebo added a thunderous dunk during the run, getting a feed from Gaskins Jr. The freshman had four points of his own as Gaskins had a layup and a jumper on back-to-back possessions.  Braxton had five points during the run, with two layups and a free throw, and Blackmon added a layup.
 
Mount tied the game at 17-17 with a 7-0 run, with a three by Junior Robinson, a dunk by Chris Wray and a layup by Wilson.  However, SFU answered with an 8-2 run to re-gain a six-point lead, 25-19, with 8:16 left in the half.  Georgios Angelou (Halkida, Greece/Lykeio Kanithou) and Andre Wolford (Willowick, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) each hit threes before Gaskins Jr. finished the run with a jumper.
 
A jumper by Long sparked a 12-0 run for Mount, ending in a 31-25 Mount lead with 5:03 to go.  Long added seven other points during that stretch, with a three, a layup and a jumper.  Alexander added a three.
 
A 7-0 run by SFU gave the Red Flash a 32-31 lead with 3:15 to go in the half.  Braxton converted a three-point play, hitting a free throw after being fouled on a layup.  Gaskins and King added layups during the run.  The teams traded baskets for the rest of the half, with a three by Long giving Mount a four-point advantage at the half.
 
A dunk by Sallah gave Mount a five-point lead early in the half, 48-43 with 16:03 left, but SFU then scored 12 of the next 19 points to tie the game at 55-55 with 11:48 to go.  King got the run going with threes on back-to-back possessions.  Braxton had four points during the run, with two layups, and Blackmon threw down a dunk off a dish by Angelou.
 
However, Mount then broke the game open with a 24-0 run, including threes on six straight possessions.  Alexander, Long and Wilson each hit two threes.  The run concluded with a layup by Sallah, a layup by Long and a dunk by Sallah.  A layup by SFU's Wolford finally stopped the run with 3:21 to go in the game and Mount leading 79-57.
 
The Red Flash is back on the road next weekend as it travels to Central Connecticut State and Bryant.  Saint Francis meets CCSU on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Bryant on Saturday at 4 p.m., with both games on NEC Front Row.