Loretto, Pa. - On a day it celebrated its winningest senior class since Maurice Stokes' class of 1955, the Saint Francis men's basketball team (19-8, 12-4 NEC) turned to its seniors down the stretch to hold off the LIU Sharks (13-16, 8-8 NEC) 74-71 at DeGol Arena. Redshirt senior Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) and senior Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea) hit the big shots with the game in the balance as Blackmon scored a team-high 21 points and Braxton registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Not to be overshadowed, senior Randall Gaskins Jr. added a season-high 15 points.

Krimmel's Reaction

"I am so proud of this group of young men," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "People will remember what they have accomplished on the basketball court, but they have achieved just as much in the classroom and in the community. I knew our group was ready for today's game when the seniors spoke yesterday after practice. The message from each and every one of them was to worry about finishing the season, not winning on senior day. They have bigger goals in mind and are as focused as any group we've ever had."

How It Happened

Saint Francis rode the hot shooting of Gaskins to a 36-32 halftime lead. The Woodbridge, Va. product knocked down 4-5 shots from the field and both of his attempts from three-point range to lead the way with 12 points. Blackmon was the driving force in the second half, giving the Red Flash its biggest lead at 60-47 with 10:42 remaining. Saint Francis went cold from the field over the next eight minutes and was outscored 22-8 in the span. Raiquan Clark gave the Sharks their first lead with a three-point play at 2:39, but Blackmon knocked down his third three-pointer of the game on the next possession to put SFU back in front. The Red Flash forced a turnover on the next trip down the court, then Braxton stretched the lead to four with an 18-foot jumper with :25 seconds left. The Sharks cut it to two on a Julian Batts' layup with 13 seconds and Braxton split two free throws on the other end. LIU had a game-tying heave leave the hands of Virshon Cotton as time expired, but it went wide as SFU secured its seventh consecutive win.

Inside the Box Score

• SFU went 29-60 (48.3%) from the field while the Sharks made 24-64 (37.5%).
• Saint Francis made 5-9 threes in the second half to finish the game 8-22 (36.4%) from behind the arc. LIU was held to just 5-24 (20.8%) from three.
• SFU connected on 8-11 (72.7%) free throws while LIU went 18-21 (85.7%).
• Rebounds favored LIU 37-36. 

Notes

• SFU matched its overall win total in conference play from each of its previous two seasons with its 12th of the year. SFU still has two regular-season games remaining. 
• SFU's 19 overall wins are its most since 1990-91.
• The senior class of Blackmon, Braxton, Gaskins, Kuzavas and Meredith have won 71 career games over the last four seasons and is the first class in program history to reach two NEC Title Games.
• Sophomore Myles Thompson (Camden, N.J./Camden) registered 11 points and Kuzavas matched his season-highs in rebounds with eight and blocks with two to go with five points.
• The five seniors combined to score 55 of SFU's 74 points.
• Blackmon passed Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) for 9th on the all-time scoring list.
• Braxton registered his 42nd career double-double.
• SFU moved into a tie-for-first place with Merrimack after the Warriors' loss to Mount St. Mary's. Merrimack does possess the tiebreaker over the Red Flash courtesy of its win in the season's only meeting so the Red Flash will be rooting for CCSU in the Warriors final game.

Up Next

The Red Flash host Mount St. Mary's on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.