Smithfield, R.I. - Redshirt senior Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) netted a game-high 24 points, but his go-ahead three-point attempt with under 20 seconds to play missed the mark as the Saint Francis men's basketball team (7-5, 0-1 NEC) lost its conference opener at Bryant (9-5, 1-0 NEC), 67-63, on Thursday night.

Krimmel's Reaction

"I can't fault our team for the effort," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "I thought our guys play hard, but we got out of rhythm on offense for a 10-minute stretch in the second half and it ended up costing us the game."

How it Happened

Saint Francis held the Bulldogs to 22 first half points, tied for the fewest in any half by an SFU opponent, to lead 28-22 at the break. Blackmon scored on the opening possession of the second half to open an eight point lead, but Saint Francis was held to just four points over the next 8:54 as the Bulldogs took a 43-34 lead on the heels of a 21-4 run. The Red Flash rediscovered its flow thanks to the hot shooting of Blackmon, who canned three second half threes to score 17 points over the final 20 minutes. His three-pointer with 3:34 to play cut the Saint Francis deficit to 59-57 and capped a 7-0 SFU run. Bryant stretched the lead back to seven, but Blackmon hit two free throws, sophomore Myles Thompson (Camden, N.J./Camden) made a layup and junior Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) added a tip-in to make it a one score game, 65-63, with 22.1 seconds to play. The ensuing Bryant inbounds pass hit the ceiling and SFU regained possession under the Bulldogs basket. Krimmel designed a play for Blackmon who got a quality look in the corner, but his shot missed and was secured by the Bulldogs. Two Bryant free throws made it a two score game as Saint Francis watched its win streak snap at five games.

Inside the Box Score

• Saint Francis showed some rust in its first game since Dec. 22, shooting 23-64 (35.9%) from the field to Bryant's 25-57 (43.9%).
• The Red Flash went 4-23 (17.4%) from three-point range. Blackmon was 4-8, while the rest of the team was 0-15. Bryant navigated a 1-14 start from three-point range to finish 8-27 (29.6%).
• SFU was 13-20 (65.0%) from the foul line to Bryant's 9-18 (50.0%).
• Saint Francis recorded a season-high 19 offensive rebounds to edge the Bulldogs in total rebounds, 44-41.
• Turnovers favored SFU, 13-10.
• SFU outscored Bryant 34-22 in the paint.

Notes

• Blackmon moved into 23rd on the SFU's all-time scoring list, surpassing 1,200 career points with his fourth 20-point game of the season and the 15th of his career.
• Senior Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea) finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, tying Darshan Luckey for 5th on the all-time scoring list.
• Thompson chipped in with 13 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.
• The Red Flash got a season-low nine points from its bench.
• SFU has lost three of its last four conference openers.

Up Next

Saint Francis returns to action on Saturday at CCSU at 3:30 p.m.