Highlights

Buffalo, N.Y. - The Saint Francis men's basketball team (0-1) dropped its season opener on Tuesday 82-67 to a Buffalo team that returned its top four scorers from the 2017-18 team that went 27-8. Junior Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea) led the way for Saint Francis with 19 points and nine rebounds and was helped by an impressive 16-point, five rebound performance from freshman Myles Thompson (Camden, N.J./Camden).

Krimmel's Reaction

"I am proud of the way our guys battled for 40 minutes," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "We came in here a little bit shorthanded and didn't want to make excuses. We knew how talented Buffalo is and knew we would have to play really well to keep it close. In saying that, we were right there with eight minutes to play before fatigue settled in late."

Turning Point

The Red Flash were within one, 52-51, with 12:09 to play in the game after a layup from junior Deivydas Kuzavas (Kretinga, Lithuania/St. Mary's Ryken (Md.)) and had a chance to take the lead before a Randall Gaskins Jr. shot rattled out on the next possession. Buffalo proceeded to go on a 22-4 run over the next 6:45 to stretch the lead to 73-55 and push it out of striking distance.

First Half Summary

The Red Flash trailed 42-34 at the half. Braxton kept Saint Francis within arm's reach with 13 points and six rebounds. Thompson set the tone with two early three-pointers, his first two shot attempts of his career, to finish the half with eight. Senior Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) added nine points, SFU led 23-21 with 9:06 in the half after a Braxton layup but the Bulls responded with an 11-0 run. SFU fought back, pulling within six on senior Luidgy Laporal's (Petit-Boutg, France/Harcum C.C.) first career field goal. 

Second Half Summary

SFU charged out of the gates on an 8-2 run, ignited by a Braxton layup and capped by a Laporal offensive put-back from a King drive. The Red Flash hung with the Bulls until the 22-4 run mentioned above. Saint Francis missed 12 of its 13 shots from the floor during the run.

Inside the Box Score

• Saint Francis shot 24-of-66 from the field (36.4%) while Buffalo made 30-of-70 field goals (42.9%).
• The Red Flash knocked down 6-of-12 threes (50.0%) while Buffalo made 7-of-34 (20.6%) from beyond the arc. 
• The Red Flash hung tough inside with the larger Bulls, winning the rebounding battle, 47-42. 
• Buffalo outscored SFU in the paint, 40-30.
• A huge stat disparity was in turnovers as SFU committed 20 to Buffalo's 11. Points off turnovers favored the Bulls, 18-8.
• SFU relied almost exclusively on a 7-man rotation and was outscored by Buffalo's bench, 38-14.

Notes

• Braxton's 19 points move him within five of 1,000 for his career.
• Thompson's 16 points were the most by an SFU freshman in a debut since Will Felder scored 17 as a freshman in a win over American in 2009-10.
• King joined Braxton and Thompson in double figures with 14.
• Sophomore Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) recorded his third career game in double digits in rebounding with 10.
• Kuzavas went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field to finish with eight points and four rebounds.
• Laporal recorded four points and five rebounds before fouling out in 18 minutes of action.
• Freshman Precious Ikediashi (Hoboken, N.J./Hudson Catholic) also made his collegiate debut and hauled in three rebounds in three minutes.