BOX SCORE Flash Points:

• Saint Francis Men's Basketball earned a 100-78 win over Bryant on Wednesday in the NEC Quarterfinals.
• The Red Flash advances to the NEC Semifinals, where it will travel to Wagner on Saturday after Wagner beat FDU, 72-70.
• SFU is now 3-1 in NEC Quarterfinals games under Rob Krimmel.
• SFU posted the first 100-point game in the NEC Tournament since Sacred Heart in 2007.
• Sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) led SFU with 24 points, while freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

NEC Tournament Central | Postgame Quotes


LORETTO, Pa. – In the first NEC Quarterfinal game at DeGol Arena since 1991, the Saint Francis Men's Basketball used a hot-shooting second half to earn a 100-78 win over Bryant on Wednesday.  The Red Flash used a late run in the first half to break the game open and carried that momentum through the second half.  SFU improved to 15-15 overall, while Bryant finished its season with a 12-20 record.
 
Saint Francis is the first team in an NEC Tournament game to score 100 points in a game since Sacred Heart won 100-68 against Wagner in 2007.  The Red Flash, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, is now 3-1 in NEC Quarterfinals games under Rob Krimmel.
 
Saint Francis advances to the NEC Semifinals, where it will travel to Wagner, the No. 3 seed.  A time is to be determined.  Wagner advanced with a 72-70 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday.  After wins by Mount St. Mary's, the No. 1 seed, and Wagner, the No. 3 seed, the Red Flash will be on the road for the NEC Semifinals, but went 6-2 in NEC road games in the regular season.
 
"Playoff basketball has been a lot of fun," said Krimmel. "Practicing the past two days, and being able to host a playoff game. I think games like this, with how young of a team we are; we've talked about playing with a sense of urgency and of the course of the last month of the season, we've played in playoff atmosphere: Wagner here in an overtime game, the Robert Morris game. A couple of road games were we had to make a couple of plays down the stretch, so we wanted the guys to have that experience."
 
Sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) led the Red Flash with 24 points, hitting 9-of-13 shots including two threes and four-of-four from the foul line.  The Third Team All-NEC Selection added six rebounds and three assists.  Freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) posted his ninth double-double of the season, and threatened to have his first career triple-double, with 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.  The NEC Rookie of the Year hit seven-of-nine shots, including three triples.  Sophomore Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) added 14 points, four rebounds and eight assists, senior Georgios Angelou (Halkida, Greece/Lykeio Kanithou) contributed 13 points, including three triples. 
 
Sophomore Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) had eight points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.  The NEC Defensive Player of the Year now has 74 blocks this season, passing Melvin Scott (70, 2000-01) for the SFU single-season record.  Nebo now has 133 career blocks, just four away from the all-time record at Saint Francis, also held by Scott (1996-01).  All five of Nebo's blocks on Wednesday came in the first half.
 
"Josh's ability to defend has been something he has brought to the table for the last two years as a freshmen, obviously now as a sophomore has been a tremendous defender," said Krimmel. "When you make mistakes defensively, it's nice to have a guy back there to be able to clean up some of the mistakes we make."
 
The Red Flash shot a scorching 61 percent from the field, going 37-of-61 from the floor, including 10-of-20 from three.  SFU went 16-of-21 from the free throw line.  SFU shot 58 percent in the first half and 63 percent in the second half.  SFU won the battle on the boards, 41-37, and got 50 of its 100 points in the paint.  SFU was opportunistic in the transition, turning seven Bryant turnovers into 19 fastbreak points.
 
Bryant was led by sophomore Nisre Zouzoua's 22 points, as the First Team All-NEC guard was 8-of-22 shooting.  Junior Bosko Kostur contributed 12 points and five rebounds, while freshman guard Ikenna Ndugba added 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.  Freshman Sabastian Townes had 12 points off the bench.
 
The Bulldogs shot 39 percent from the field, going 31-of-80, but were just 8-of-31 from three (26 percent).  Bryant went 8-of-13 at the foul line.  Bryant shot 37 percent in the first half and 41 percent in the second half.
 
"We just didn't have it tonight for whatever reason," said Bryant Head Coach Tim O'Shea. "One of the things I stressed to our guys afterwards was the importance of home court advantage in this league. When you play at home, we don't have to make the two-day trip here. I thought they (SFU) had good energy, took advantage of the home court and shot the ball well."
 
The Red Flash led 48-32 at halftime after ending the half on an 22-5 run.  Saint Francis shot 58 percent in the half, making 18-of-31 looks, including 5-of-12 from three (42 percent).  SFU was 7-of-10 from the free throw line.  Blackmon led SFU with 11 points in the half, on four-of-six shooting, while Braxton added nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.  King had eight points, while Nebo posted six points, five rebounds and five blocks.  Angelou and sophomore Andre Wolford (Willowick, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) each had six points with a pair of threes.
 
Bryant shot 37 percent in the half, hitting 14-of-38 attempts, but went just 3-of-12 from three (25 percent) and were just one-of-two from the free throw line.  Zouzoua led the Bulldogs with eight points in the half, with Kostur adding seven points and five rebounds and Ndugba contributing six points.
 
The opening minutes of the game were very tight, with no team leading by more than three, until a short 6-0 run by SFU gave the Red Flash a 24-18 advantage with 9:31 left in the half.  Blackmon started the run with a layup, with Braxton adding a layup, off a steal by senior Patrick Wrencher (West Chester, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller), and King knocking down two free throws.
 
However, Bryant responded with a 9-2 run to re-gain the lead, 27-26, with 6:18 to go.  Kostur started the run with a three.  Ndugba hit a jumper a minute later before Townes and Zouzoua connected on jumpers to close the run.
 
Saint Francis broke the game open with a 22-5 run to close the half.  The Red Flash showed off its balanced scoring with six players contributing to the run.  Nebo started the run with a layup before King added a layup.  Wolford knocked down a three before Braxton hit the front end of two free throws and added a layup on the next SFU possession.  Wolford then hit another three before Braxton added another layup.  Blackmon hit two free throws before Angelou buried a three and King finished the stretch with a layup. 
 
The Red Flash scored 11 of the first 16 points in the second half to extend its lead to 59-37 with 15:11 to go.  Nebo started the scoring with a jumper from the top of the key after a long rebound.  King then got a layup to go after an assist by Nebo on a cut to the rim.  Blackmon then hit Wrencher for a layup on the next possession.  A couple possessions later, King converted an and-one opportunity, making a layup through contact and adding the free throw.  Blackmon's layup extended SFU's lead to 22 points.  After a layup by Bryant's Marcel Pettway, a three by Braxton and a layup by Blackmon pushed SFU's lead to 25 with 13:41 to go.
 
A 9-2 run by Bryant cut SFU's lead to 18, 71-53, with 9:25 remaining in the game.  Freshman Adam Grant started the run with a layup and hit a three on the next possession.  Kostur then knocked down two free throws after getting a steal and being fouled on a layup attempt.  Pettway got another layup to go to conclude the run.  A three by Braxton and layups by Braxton and Blackmon stretched the lead back to 25, 78-53, with 7:22 left.
 
After a three by Zouzoua cut the Bryant deficit to 21, 79-58, with 6:39 left, the Red Flash scored 16 of the game's next 26 points, ending with a Wrencher layup for SFU's largest lead of the game, 95-65 with 3:13 to go. Wrencher had two layups during that stretch, with Angelou adding his own layup plus a three.  Braxton hit two free throws, while Blackmon knocked down a three and two free throws.
 
A free throw, to complete an and-one opportunity, by Wolford put the Red Flash over the century mark, 100-70, with 2:10 left.  Wolford hit his and-one after sophomore Scott Meredith (Pilot Mountain, N.C./Hargrave Military Academy (Va.)) knocked down two free throws on the previous possession.