PITTSBURGH – Senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover scored a career-high 21 points and four other players were in double figures as the Saint Francis men's basketball team opened the 2020-21 season by defeating Pitt for the first time in program history, 80-70, Wednesday night.
 
Saint Francis built a 13-point halftime advantage and led by as many as 20 points in the second half as the Red Flash opened its season by defeating the Panthers for the first time in 30 all-time tries.
 
Junior Myles Thompson, senior Mark Flagg, and freshmen Ronell Giles, Jr. and Maxwell Land all contributed double-digit scoring efforts in the long-awaited season opener.

Saint Francis 80, Pitt 70
Records: Saint Francis (1-0), Pitt (0-1)
Location: Petersen Events Center (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
 
KEY MOMENTS 

• A 10-0 Saint Francis run gave the Red Flash an early 10-2 lead.
• Saint Francis was ahead by as many as 16 in the first half to lead 46-33 at the break.
• The Red Flash opened a 20-point advantage before Pitt trimmed the margin to single digits in the closing minutes. SFU held off Pitt at the free-throw line in the closing minutes.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• After an opening basket from Pitt, Land and Thompson tallied five points each to put the Red Flash ahead 10-2 three minutes into the contest.
• SFU pushed the lead to 17-8, and after back-to-back twos from Pitt, Giles knocked down his first two career free-throw attempts to make it 19-12 Red Flash with 12:14 to go in the opening half. Giles would help extend the advantage to 25-14 with 9:54 remaining.
• A deep three from redshirt sophomore Bryce Laskey – his third of the half – put the Red Flash in front by 13 at 41-28 with 3:02 to go before halftime.
• Dixon-Conover scored 11 first-half points, while Laskey and Thompson added nine each to take a 46-33 lead into the locker room.
• Threes from Dixon-Conover and Land, both enabled by Flagg offensive rebounds, gave SFU its largest lead so far on the night at 52-35 with 17:48 to play. Land added another on the next trip down to extend the cushion to 20.
• The Panthers would cut the SFU advantage to 12 at 61-49 before Flagg ended a nearly five-minute scoring drought with 8:13 to play.
• Pitt would hang with Saint Francis down the stretch, forcing a handful of shot clock violations and slowing down the Red Flash offense, but the Panthers would not get back within single digits until the final minute.

STATS

• Dixon-Conover's career-high 21 points came on 5-of-9 from the field and 9-of-11 from the line. The senior guard added five rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
• Thompson scored 13 points and added a team-high eight rebounds.
• Land tallied 12 points and Giles added 10 in their collegiate debuts.
• Flagg collected 11 points, six rebounds, and two blocks.
• Freshman Jeriah Coleman grabbed five rebounds in six minutes off the bench.
• The Red Flash corralled 11 steals off 23 Panther turnovers.
• SFU shot 42.9% from the floor, while Pitt was at 39.7%.
• The Red Flash assisted on 17 of 27 baskets with Thompson and Flagg adding three each to Dixon-Conover's team-high five.
• Pitt outrebounded SFU, 47-38.

GAME NOTES

• SFU improves to 1-29 all-time against Pitt.
• The victory is Saint Francis' fourth all-time win over a current ACC member. SFU defeated Boston College in the 1975-76 season, Syracuse in 1970-71, and Virginia Tech in 1950-51.
• The win was the first against a major-conference opponent since a Dec. 20, 2014 win at Rutgers.
• The Red Flash trailed 2-0 to open the game, but led the rest of the way after the opening baskets from Thompson and Land.
• SFU received 75 of its 200 minutes played (38%) from freshmen.
• Coleman, Giles, Harrison, Land, Josh Cohen, and Luke Ruggery made their collegiate debuts in the win. Land and Laskey made their first career starts.

UP NEXT 
The Red Flash will host UMBC Saturday at 3 p.m. in the home opener at DeGol Arena. The game is not open to fans, but can be watched free of charge on NEC Front Row and the NEC On the Run app.
 
Follow Saint Francis Men's Basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get up-to-date information and a behind-the-scenes look at the Red Flash.
 
To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.