Loretto, Pa. - The Saint Francis men's basketball team (8-11, 4-4 NEC) overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to take down the Sacred Heart Pioneers (8-13, 4-4 NEC) 79-78 in front of a raucous crowd on Saturday night. Junior Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea) led a season-high six players in double figures with 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Krimmel's Reaction

"I don't know if I have ever been more proud of a group I've coached than tonight," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "These guys get along so well off the court and you could see it all come together tonight after a lackluster first half. Myles and Ramiir brought great energy off the bench and our guys fed off of that to pull out a big win on our home court."

Turning Point

Saint Francis trailed 65-55 with 5:37 to play before senior Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) knocked down a three to pull the Red Flash within seven. Two free throws from junior Randall Gaskins Jr. and a three-pointer from redshirt junior Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) made it a one score game at 66-63. Sacred Heart scored on its next possession but it was answered by a three from senior Andre Wolford (North Olmstead, Ohio/Saint Ignatius), making the score 68-66 with 3:25 remaining. The teams traded buckets and then Wolford gave SFU its first lead of the half, 71-70, with his game-high fourth three-pointer. The Red Flash forced Sacred Heart into three straight misses and turned them into four points from Braxton and two from freshman Myles Thompson (Camden, N.J./Camden) to build a 77-70 lead with under a minute to play and put the game out of reach. The Pioneers made the final score 79-78 on a three-pointer at the buzzer.

First Half Summary

Saint Francis was able to overcome a dreadful first half which saw Sacred Heart shoot 19-of-29 (65.5%) from the field. Saint Francis made just 9-of-its 30 field goal attempts (30.0%) and trailed 42-28 at the break.

Second Half Summary

As Krimmel alluded to in his post game presser, the Red Flash were sparked by the energy of Thompson and sophomore Ramiir Dixon-Conover (Newark, N.J./South Kent) off the bench. Saint Francis's bench outscored the Pioneers 23-8 over the final 20 minutes thanks to 11 second-half points from Thompson. Saint Francis held the Pioneers to just 40.0% shooting in the second half and knocked down 6-of-14 three-pointers (42.9%) to complete the comeback.

Inside the Box Score

• Final field goal pct. numbers were 27-69 (39.1%) for Saint Francis and 29-54 (53.7%) for Sacred Heart.
• The Red Flash held the edge in three-point field goals at 12-of-28 (42.9%) for the game compared to 5-of-17 (29.4%) for Sacred Heart.
• Sacred Heart made 15-of-19 free throws (78.9%) while the Red Flash converted 13-of-16 (81.3%) from the foul line.
• Sacred Heart outrebounded Saint Francis 36-34 for the game, but was 23-17 in favor of SFU in the second half. 
• Saint Francis recorded nine of its 15 assists in the second half. 
• The Red Flash won the turnover battle 15-7 and 9-2 in the second half.
• Points in the paint favored Sacred Heart, 38-26.
• The Red Flash led for just 3:53 of the 40 minutes.

Notes

• In addition to Braxton's 15 points, King added 14, Blackmon finished with 13, Wolford chipped in 12, Thompson scored 11 and Gaskins Jr. registered 10. 
• Dixon-Conover's defense frustrated the Sacred Heart ball handlers all night as he recorded a +22 in just 14 minutes of play.
• Wolford appears to have ended his first-half shooting slump as he is 13-of-30 (43.3%) over the last four games.
• Saint Francis jumps into a six-way tie for third place with the win. 
• The Red Flash outscored Sacred Heart 22-5 from 5:37 to :15 of the second half.
• Saint Francis is 7-4 this season following a loss. 

Up Next

Saint Francis travels to first-place Robert Morris (7-1 NEC) on Thursday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m.