Loretto, Pa. - Senior Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea) closed his historic career with 22 points and nine rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Saint Francis men's basketball team (22-10) fell to Robert Morris (20-14) 77-67 in the NEC Championship game on Tuesday night.

Krimmel's Reaction

"Congrats to coach (Andy) Toole and his staff," said head coach Rob Krimmel. "Robert Morris played a fantastic game and will be a great representative for our conference in the NCAA Tournament. As for our group, I couldn't be more proud of what we have accomplished, and more specifically, what this group of seniors has accomplished. They have poured their hearts and souls into the program and represented the University in a first-class way on and off the court. This loss is going to sting for a long time, but at some point in their lives they will be better people for it."

How It Happened

Sophomore Myles Thompson (Camden, N.J./Camden) scored for Saint Francis on the opening possession, but it was the only lead Saint Francis would hold all game. Saint Francis trailed 23-21 after a driving layup from redshirt sophomore Tyler Stewart (Silver Spring, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal) and 29-25 after a finish at the rim from senior Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte), but the Colonials scored the final five points of the half to take a 34-25 lead into halftime. 

Robert Morris senior Josh Williams set the tone to open the second half with a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 12. Braxton tried to will his team back into the game and brought the Red Flash within single digits at 39-30 after a three-point play with 18:04 remaining. Robert Morris answered with a spurt and led by as many as 17 at 51-34. A Blackmon layup got Saint Francis within 11 at 51-40 and Saint Francis got back-to-back stops to give itself a chance to get back to single digits, but turned the ball over on consecutive possessions, the second which led to another Williams three. The deficit eventually stretched to 19 before Saint Francis made one final push and cut it to 12 at 64-52 on a Blackmon layup with 6:17, but Williams was fouled shooting a three on the next possession and converted the three freebies into three points.

Inside the Box Score

• Robert Morris made 30-62 (48.4%) from the field and held Saint Francis to 28-59 (47.5%).
• The Colonials were much more accurate from three-point range, going 10-27 (37.0%) to SFU's 3-17 (17.6%).
• SFU made 8-9 free throws (88.9%), while RMU made 7-10 (70.0%).
• Rebounds favored RMU 35-30 as the Colonials were able to secure 12 on the offensive glass.
• RMU won the turnover battle 11-9 and capitalized with 12 points off turnovers to SFU's seven.

Notes

• Blackmon joined Braxton as the only SFU scorer in double figures with 16 points. 
• Stewart added eight points off the bench and Gaskins had seven.
• Saint Francis finishes the season with 22 wins, its first 20-win seasons since winning 24 in 1990-91.
• The Red Flash also matched a program record with 13 league wins.
• SFU's senior class won 74 games over the last four seasons and was the first in program history to appear in three NEC Championships.
• Braxton closes his career third in program history in scoring (2,067), rebounding (1,151), assists (454) and steals (194).
• Blackmon will close his career seventh in career scoring at 1,606 points and third in career three-point field goals made with 218.
• Braxton and Blackmon were named to the NEC's All-Tournament Team after the game.