BOX SCORE Loretto, Pa. - Junior Scott Meredith (Pilot Mountain, N.C./Hargrave Military Academy (Va.)) knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing with 1.3 seconds remaining to lead the Saint Francis men's basketball team (12-9, 6-3 NEC) to a 72-71 win over Sacred Heart (7-16, 2-8 NEC) on Sunday. The Pioneers had a chance to tie when junior Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) was whistled for a foul with .6 ticks remaining but Chris Robinson missed the second free throw and sophomore Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) secured the rebound for the win.

Krimmel's Reaction

"I am so proud of this team," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "To play arguably our worst game of the year on Friday and come back and gut out a win says so much about this group. Jamaal (King) made a great read on the final play, which shows how much he is maturing as a player, and Scotty knocked it down. It couldn't happen to a better person or harder worker on this team."

Turning Point

The Red Flash led 64-57 after junior Andre Wolford (Willowick, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) buried a three with 8:16 to play. However, Saint Francis would go cold from the field and a 13-3 run would allow the Pioneers to jump in front, 70-65, with 3:22 remaining. King cut it to a one possession game with 3:05 and the Red Flash clamped down on defense, not allowing a field goal over the final three minutes. Another King layup with 1:12 to go made it a one point game. Sacred Heart missed a jumper on the next possession but secured the rebound. However, the ball would go back to Saint Francis after Charles Tucker was whistled for an offensive foul with 19 ticks to go. King then drove to the middle of the floor, collapsed the defense, and kicked to an open Meredith who did the rest. The Pioneers length of the floor inbounds pass was deflected out of bounds by freshman Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) with .6 seconds remaining. King was then whistled for a foul before the Pioneers could get the ball in. Robinson kncoked down the first free throw before front rimming the second.

Inside the Box Score

• Saint Francis made 26-59 (44.1%) field goals to 28-60 (46.7%) for the Pioneers.
• The Red Flash hit 10-25 (40.0%) of its three-point tries while SHU hit 6-14 (42.9%). Wolford continued to light it up from behind the arc, going 4-6, while Meredith went 3-4.
• Saint Francis made 10-13 (76.9%) free throws while Sacred Heart hit 9-18 (50.0%).
• Sacred Heart, the top rebounding team in the league, won the battle on the glass, 42-30.
• Points in the paint were 34-30 in favor of the Pioneers and second chance points were 10-4. 
• The Pioneers benched also outscored Saint Francis's 29-15.
• The Red Flash assisted on 17 made field goals, its most since recording 18 vs. LIU Brooklyn on Jan. 4. King led with six assists while senior Malik Harmon (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) added five.

Notes

• With his game-high 21 points, King has now scored 20 or more points in seven of 10 conference games.
• Wolford added 17 points.
• Braxton notched his 10th double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
• Meredith added nine points in 16 minutes of play.
• Freshman Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) earned the start, finishing with six points and five rebounds.
• The man he replaced in the lineup, sophomore Deivydas Kuzavas (Kretinga, Lithuania/St. Mary's Ryken (Md.)), also had a nice game with six points and five rebounds.

Up Next

The Red Flash play another nationally-televised game on Thursday, Feb. 1, vs. Fairleigh Dickinson on CBS Sports Network. Tip is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.