Emmitsburg, Md. - The Saint Francis men's basketball team (17-8, 10-4 NEC) is making a habit of epic second half comebacks. Seventeen days after completing a 21-point comeback vs. CCSU, the largest in school and NEC history, the Red Flash erased a 15-point second half deficit at Mount St. Mary's (10-16, 6-7 NEC), outscoring the Mountaineers by 30 points over the final 17:49. Redshirt senior Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) scored a game-high 21 points, knocking down five three-pointers, and junior Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) added 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the win.

Krimmel's Reaction

"Give coach Englestad and his staff a lot of credit for coming out ready to play and executing a great game plan," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "This is always a difficult arena to play in, but I was proud at our ability to make some important in-game adjustments and keep battling."

How it Happened

The Mountaineers' defense stymied the Red Flash over the first 20 minutes, holding Saint Francis to 29.2% from the field and forcing nine turnovers. A quick start to the second half from the Mount stretched the lead to 35-20 with 18:09 remaining, but Flagg converted a three-point play to start the comeback. Saint Francis made its big move from the 14:17 to 10:05 mark, going on a 14-2 spurt to tie the game at 44-44 on a Flagg layup. Mount St. Mary's took  a 49-46 lead with 7:35 to play on a Vado Morse three, but it was answered by a Blackmon triple on the other end. Senior Deivydas Kuzavas (Kretinga, Lithuania/St. Mary's Ryken (Md.)) gave Saint Francis its first lead of the half at 51-50 with a layup, and Blackmon followed with another three-to stretch the lead to four. A right-wing three by redshirt sophomore Tyler Stewart (Silver Spring, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal) with 4:14 to play gave Saint Francis a 57-52 lead. The Red Flash would take care of the rest from the free throw line. 

Inside the Box Score 

• SFU responded from the slow first half to shoot 54.8% from the field over the final 20 minutes. The Red Flash ended the game 24-55 (43.6%) from the field to Mount St. Mary's 18-52 (34.6%).
• The Red Flash drained 8-20 (40.0%) from three-point range and held the Mount to 6-18 (33.3%).
• Saint Francis shot 14-21 (66.7%) from the free throw line, while Mount St. Mary's made 13-21 (61.9%).
• SFU turned the ball over just once in the final 20 minutes and narrowly lost the turnover battle, 10-9.
• SFU hurt Mount St. Mary's on the boards to the tune of 42-31. Senior Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea) had a season-high 13 rebounds, while four of Flagg's eight rebounds came on the offensive end.
• The Red Flash outscored Mount St. Mary's 28-20 in the paint.
• Stewart scored all 10 of his points in the second half as SFU's bench outscored Mount St. Mary's bench 20-0.

Notes

• Blackmon passed Greg Jacobs and Harkeem Dixon to move into 10th place on the school's all-time scoring list. He has scored 20 or more points in eight of the 13 conference games he has played in and leads the league in scoring in league games only at 21.0 ppg.
• Braxton registered his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
• Stewart finished with 10 points and six rebounds and was +29 in 16:48 of game action.
• Senior Randall Gaskins Jr. added eight points and two steals.
• The senior class, which consists of Blackmon, Braxton, Gaskins, Kuzavas and Scott Meredith (Pilot Mountain, N.C./Hargrave Military Academy (Va.)) notched its 69th win over the past four seasons, the most by any class since Maurice Stokes' class of 1955.
• Saint Francis is two games behind Merrimack for first-place, but just one game behind Robert Morris for the top overall seed in the conference tournament with the Warriors being ineligible.

Up Next

Speaking of Robert Morris, the Red Flash square off with the Colonials on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The winner will grab a temporary lead for the one seed with three games to follow.