Loretto, Pa. - Junior guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea) recorded a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds on the same night he went over 1,000 career points as the Saint Francis men's basketball team (1-1) defeated Morgan State (1-1) 80-62 in its home opener Friday night.

Krimmel's Reaction

"We won the game with our defense which was a big point of emphasis in the offseason," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "I was really happy with the way the team responded when we were challenged. Morgan State went on a run and I made a point not to call a timeout. Our guys were able to play through it and make enough plays to pull away."

Turning Point 

Saint Francis built a 42-30 first half lead but it was trimmed to 54-52 with 9:55 to play on the heels of a 13-2 Morgan State run. SFU led by two at the 6:55 mark when Braxton took the game over. His coast-to-coast layup put SFU up four then he hit a step-back three on the next possession to increase the lead to seven. Layups from sophomore Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) and redshirt junior Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) and a corner three from senior Andre Wolford (North Olmstead, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) stretched the lead to 68-57 at the under-four media timeout and the Red Flash never looked back. 

Inside the Box Score

• Saint Francis survived an uncharacteristically poor shooting night, finishing 26-of-67 (38.8%) from the field. Morgan State was smothered by the SFU defense, finishing 22-of-61 (36.1%) from the floor.
• Saint Francis made just 6-of-27 three-pointers (22.2%) while Morgan State connected on 5-of-18 (27.8%) from behind the arc.
• The Red Flash hit 22-of-33 free throws (66.7%) while the Bears made 13-of-17 (76.5%) from the stripe. 
• Saint Francis led for 36:15 of the 40 minutes and never trailed from the 16:37 mark of the first half.
• SFU won the turnover battle 15-8.
• Points in the paint favored SFU, 40-26.
• Led by Wolford's 12 points, the Saint Francis bench outscored the Bears' bench 32-26.

Notes

• King led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting.
• Braxton's double-double was his first this season and the 25th of his career.
• Blackmon scored eight points and added five rebounds in his first game since tearing his ACL for the second time in his career last November.
• Freshman Myles Thompson (Camden, N.J./Camden) continued his strong play with eight points and seven rebounds.
• Saint Francis has won its last six home openers, the last defeat to Colgate in 2012-13.
• SFU out-rebounded the Bears 39-34 and has won the rebounding battle in both of its games this season.
• Morgan State scored 77 points against No. 9 Villanova in its season opener on Tuesday but didn't score more than 32 in either half in tonight's 62-point scoring effort.
• Junior Deivydas Kuzavas (Kretinga, Lithuania/St. Mary's Ryken (Md.)) has started the season a perfect 7-for-7 from the field in two games.
• Braxton joins teammate Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) in the 1,000 point club as the 41st player in program history to reach the milestone.

Up Next

Saint Francis kicks off a three-game stretch vs. ranked opponents next Friday, Nov. 16, at No. 21 UCLA.