BOX SCORE Flash Points:
- Freshman guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) hit a three at the buzzer to send SFU Men's Basketball to the NEC Championship game.
- Braxton's three gave SFU a 71-70 win over Wagner in the NEC Semifinal game.
- SFU, the No. 4 seed, will meet top-seed Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday in the NEC Championship, with a 7 p.m. tipoff on ESPN2.
- SFU returns to the NEC Championship game for the first time since 1991, when it won the NEC Title.
- Sophomore Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) set an SFU single-game record with eight blocks and now owns the all-time record at SFU with 141 career blocks.
- Sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) led SFU with 20 points, while Braxton had 15 and Randall Gaskins Jr. added 12.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The NEC Rookie of the Year hit Saint Francis' biggest shot of the season as
Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) hit a three from the wing at the buzzer to send the Red Flash Men's Basketball team to the NEC Championship. Saint Francis, the No, 4 seed in the NEC Tournament, came out on top in a back-and-forth game, 71-70, over No. 3 Wagner.
The Red Flash will travel to Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday, with tipoff at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. Saint Francis returns to the NEC Championship game for the first time since 1991, when it won the NEC Title.
In a crazy final minute of the play, Wagner's Corey Henson hit a go-ahead three with 47 seconds left to put Wagner ahead, 68-65. However, sophomore
Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) knocked down a three to even the game with 36 seconds remaining. With nine seconds left, the Seahawks' Michael Carey drove into the lane and got a layup to roll in to give Wagner a 70-68 lead.
King inbounded the ball to Nebo, who immediately gave it back to King. The sophomore drove the length of the floor and threw it to Braxton on the wing. Braxton pump-faked and then with a defender in his face, rose up and threw up a three. The ball rolled around the rim and in as the final buzzer blew.
Sophomore
Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) led the Red Flash with 20 points, hitting 5-of-11 shots including three triples, and went seven-of-eight from the free throw line. Braxton added 15 points, on 6-of-12 shooting and three triples, and eight rebounds. Freshman Randall Gaskins Jr. hit all five of his shot attempts for 12 points, while sophomore
Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) had 10 points, six rebounds and a school-record eight blocks.
Nebo not only set the SFU single-game blocks record, but now has 141 career blocks to move him past Melvin Scott (137, 1996-01) for the all-time record at Saint Francis. Nebo has 82 blocks this season, an SFU season record.
The Red Flash shot 52 percent for the game, going 26-of-50 from the field, including 11-of-20 from three (55 percent). SFU went 8-of-13 from the free throw line. SFU shot 50 percent in the first half and 55 percent in the second half. SFU turned 12 Wagner turnovers into 15 fastbreak points.
Carey led the Seahawks with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Carey hit 12-of-22 shots including four threes. Carey tallied 20 of his 29 points in the first half. Henson had 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting with five threes. Henson scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half.
The Red Flash led 35-29 at halftime. Saint Francis shot 50 percent from the field in the half, going 15-of-30, including 5-of-10 from three. Gaskins Jr. led SFU with nine points, making all four of his shot attempts, including a three. Blackmon added eight points and four rebounds, while Braxton had seven points, four rebounds and two assists. Nebo had six points, three rebounds and four blocks.
Wagner hit 33 percent of its shots in the half, making 11-of-33 from the floor. The Seahawks were 5-of-11 from three for a 45 percent clip. Carey led the Seahawks with 20 points in the half, hitting 8-of-12 shots, including four-of-five from three. He added five rebounds.
After a layup by Wagner's Greg Senat to tie the game with 16:20 to go in the half, a layup by Gaskins ignited a 13-3 run. Blackmon made a layup before Braxton knocked down a three. Braxton made a layup on SFU's next possession before Gaskins and senior
Patrick Wrencher (West Chester, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller) added layups to put SFU up 21-11 with 11:55 to go in the half.
A three by Wagner's Blake Francis cut the Seahawks deficit to seven, but SFU then scored the next seven points to extend its lead to 28-14 with 8:16 left in the half. Nebo threw down a dunk off a lob by King to start the run. Angelou buried a three on the next possession. A minute later Nebo got a layup to go to push the lead to 14.
However, Wagner closed the half on a 12-5 run to cut the SFU lead to 35-29. Devin Liggeons hit two free throws to start the run, but from there it was all Michael Carey as the senior scored Wagner's next 10 points, finishing the half with a pair of threes.
The second half featured seven ties and six lead changes.
A layup by Blackmon and a dunk by Nebo, off another lob by King, extended SFU's lead to 39-29 to start the half. However, the Seahawks tied the game with a 10-0 run to even the game at 39-39 with 15:58 remaining. JoJo Cooper converted a pair of layups to start the stretch, with Henson and Francis burying threes to tie the game.
The Red Flash responded with threes by Braxton and Gaskins Jr. to push its lead back to 45-39, but Wagner scored nine of the game's next 12 points to tie the game back up at 48-48 with 10:13 left. Henson had five of the nine Wagner points, with a jumper and a three, while Cooper and Carey added layups. Wagner took its first lead of the second half, 53-52, on a three by Henson with 8:08 to go in the game. Blackmon answered with a three before Henson responded with a layup.
Wagner gained a three-point advantage, 62-59, with 2:52 to play after Carey converted a three-point play. Blackmon hit two free throws to bring SFU within one before King drove in for a layup on the next possession for his first points of the game. A three by Henson was then answered by a Blackmon floater to setup the wild finish.
