BOX SCORE Loretto, Pa. - Junior Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea) recorded 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, senior Andre Wolford (North Olmstead, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) hit a season-high five three-pointers en route to 16 points and six rebounds and senior Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) pitched in with 16 points, five assists and five rebounds as the Saint Francis men's basketball team (7-9, 3-2 NEC) overcame a five-point halftime deficit to defeat Central Connecticut State (8-10, 2-3 NEC) 80-69. With the win, Saint Francis head coach Rob Krimmel moved into second in program history in career wins with 86, passing his mentors and former coaches Tom McConnell and Bobby Jones.

Krimmel's Reaction

"I give our guys a lot of credit. Our attention to detail tonight was really good and we did a great job of sticking to the scouting report. Randall Gaskins Jr. and Ramiir Dixon-Conover (Newark, N.J./South Kent) gave us great minutes on the defense end and it really helped us pull away late.

Turning Point

Saint Francis trailed 61-58 with 9:18 to play before taking over the game with a 14-0 run. SFU held CCSU scoreless for 7:27 during the run as the Blue Devils missed 10 straight shots.

First Half Summary

SFU stayed within touch with balanced scoring, placing six different scorers with at least four points. Wolford and junior Randall Gaskins Jr. led SFU with six points at the break.

Second Half Summary

Saint Francis trailed by eight before Wolford cut the deficit in half with a four-point play. It was one of three second half threes for the sharpshooter. Braxton scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, tying the game with 9:09 on a driving layup plus the foul. Saint Francis made 13-of-24 (54.2%) from the field over the final 20 minutes while holding CCSU to 9-of-33 (27.3%).

Inside the Box Score

• The Red Flash shot 27-of-55 (49.1%) from the field, 8-of-21 from three-point range (38.1%) and 18-of-26 (69.2%) from the free throw line.
• After shooting 50.0% from the field in the first half, CCSU was held to 23-of-61 (37.7%) for the game, 8-for-22 (36.4%) from three and 15-for-20 (75.0%) from the charity stripe.
• SFU won the rebounding battle 37-33.
• CCSU outscored SFU 20-9 off turnovers as turnovers were 14-8 in the Blue Devils favor.
• The Red Flash outscored CCSU 32-9 in fast break points.
• Points in the paint were 32-18 in SFU's advantage.
• There were 17 lead changes over the game and it was tied on nine occasions.

Notes

• Krimmel's 86 wins are the most by an SFU coach since Skip Hughes retired in 1966 with 293 wins.
• SFU was 0-8 when trailing at halftime of its games this season but was able to overcome the five-point halftime deficit for its first comeback win.
• Saint Francis held Tyler Kohl, the Northeast Conference's third leading scorer at 18.5 ppg, to just eight points on 3-of-16 shooting.
• Braxton's seven assists tied a season-high.
• Wolford's six rebounds were also a season-high. It was his first game of the season with five or more threes after doing so five times last season.
• Nine Saint Francis players scored three or more points.
• SFU is 6-1 when outscoring its opponents in the paint and 5-2 when scoring 80 or more total points.

Up Next

The Red Flash look to complete a 2-0 week at Bryant on Mon., Jan. 21, at 5 p.m.