Washington D.C. - The Saint Francis men's basketball team (3-5) couldn't overcome its slow start in a 95-82 loss at American (5-2) on Tuesday night. The Red Flash put together a frantic second half rally, cutting a 20-point halftime deficit to five, before the Eagles pulled away. Redshirt junior Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) scored a season-high 22 points while junior Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea) added 16 points and 14 rebounds in the loss.

Krimmel's Reaction

"We lacked the sense of urgency that we need to play with to open the game," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "Against a good team like American, it will dig you in too big of a hole and that was the case tonight. We played with better urgency in the second half to cut it to five but it wasn't enough. Hopefully, we learn a lesson from this and come out with a better focus on Sunday."

Turning Point

Saint Francis opened the second half on a `31-16 run to narrow a 50-30 halftime deficit to 66-61 after a Braxton layup with 8:58 remaining. The Eagles responded with back-to-back dagger three-pointers on the next two ensuing possessions to spark a 12-0 run and put the game out of reach.

First Half Summary

Saint Francis allowed American sophomore Sam Iorio to get loose in the first half as he buried 9-of-10 shots and 6-of-7 threes en route to a 24-point half. As a team, American made 20 of 29 (69.0%) shots while SFU was just 10-of-27 (37.0%).

Second Half Summary

The Red Flash came out with a renewed focus to open the half, forcing the Eagles into missed shots and capitalizing in transition on the other end for easy bucket. Blackmon ignited the comeback with 16 of his 22 points over the final 20 minutes on 3-of-4 from behind the arc.

Inside the Box Score

• American ended the game 34-56 (60.7%) from the field, the highest shooting pct. against the Red Flash this season and the first team to shoot 60% or better since the Duke game on Dec. 5 of last season. Saint Francis finished 28-62 (45.2%) from the field.
• American knocked down 10-24 three-pointers (41.7%) while SFU connected on 6 of its 21 (28.6%) three-point attempts.
• The Eagles were 17-28 (60.7%) from the foul line compared to 20-25 (80.0%) for the Red Flash.
• American's offense gave SFU fits in the first half as the Eagles finished the game with a 26-10 advantage in assists while committing just five turnovers to SFU's 10.

Notes

• Blackmon's 22-point night was his eighth career game with 20 or more points and his first since scoring 20 in a win over Wagner in the NEC Semifinals during the 2016-17 season.
• Braxton netted his third double-double of the season and the 27th of his career. His 14 rebounds were a season-high.
• Senior Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) chipped in with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists.
• Senior Andre Wolford (North Olmstead, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) was the fourth scorer in double figures with 11 points.
• Iorio finished the game with 33 points, the most by an opposing player since at least the 2011-12 season.
• Saint Francis fell to 0-5 on the road this season.

Up Next

Saint Francis will face another road test on Sunday at Delaware (7-2) at 2 p.m.