SFU Postgame Quotes | Bryant Postgame Quotes
Loretto, Pa. - Behind 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists from senior
Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea) and a season-high 20 points from senior Randall Gaskins Jr., the Saint Francis men's basketball team (21-9) matched its largest margin of victory in an NEC Tournament game in an 87-61 destruction of Bryant (15-17).
Krimmel's Reaction
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate Jared (Grasso) and his team on a great season, he's made a ton of progress in his two years there," said head coach
Rob Krimmel. "I don't think I said two words in the first ten minutes of the game. The focus and intensity that they had to start was, what I expected from this group. We have an experienced team that's been through so many playoff games and so many different scenarios. It was a lot of fun to stand on the sidelines those first couple minutes and not have to do a heck of a whole lot. These guys carried the load."
How It Happened
The senior-ladened Red Flash set the tone from the opening tip. Gaskins knocked down his first two shots, a baseline jumper and a corner three, to give Saint Francis a 5-0 lead, and they led 15-4 at the first media timeout after a three-pointer from sophomore
Myles Thompson (Camden, N.J./Camden). The lead stretched to 22-4 on a layup by Braxton before Bryant was able to weather the storm and battle back to make it 45-31 at the half. The Bulldogs got as close as 11 with 15 minutes to go in the game, but redshirt sophomore
Tyler Stewart (Silver Spring, Md./St. Andrew's Episcopal) was fouled hard going to the rim and the Bulldogs were assessed an intentional foul. Stewart canned both free throws then connected on a turnaround jumper and Saint Francis went back ahead by 15. Bryant made one final push, cutting it to 65-52 with 7:51 remaining, but the Red Flash answered with 14 of the next 16 points to turn it into a route.
Inside the Box Score
- Saint Francis shot 32-56 (57.1%) from the field, its best percentage against a Division I opponent all season. Bryant was held to 23-69 (33.3%).
- The Red Flash hit 7-17 (41.2%) from three-point range to Bryant's 7-29 (24.1%).
- SFU made 16-19 free throws (84.2%), while Bryant went 8-12 (66.7%) from the charity stripe.
- Bryant grabbed 16 offensive rebounds to lead in total rebounds 38-37.
- SFU won the turnover battle 12-10 and scored 15 points off turnovers.
- Points in the paint favored Saint Francis, 34-24.
Notes
- Saint Francis never trailed and led wire-to-wire after Gaskins made jumper to open the game.
- With four steals, Braxton moved into the top three in career steals and currently ranks third in program history in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
- Gaskins Jr.'s 20 points ties his most-ever against a Division I opponent. His career-high is 23, which he scored vs. Bloomsburg on Nov. 27, 2018.
- Stewart and Thompson also scored in double figures with 11 points apiece.
- The Red Flash improved to 7-6 in the NEC Tournament under coach Krimmel and 5-2 in NEC Quarterfinal games.
- Saint Francis is 4-0 vs. Bryant in the NEC Tournament, with all four wins coming under Krimmel's tenure.
- Saint Francis has now reached an NEC Semifinal in three of the last four seasons and four of the last six.
- With the win, the Red Flash moved to 12-2 in DeGol Arena, tying its most number of home wins since the 1990-91 season.
- SFU's 26-point victory matched its 26-point win over St. Francis Brooklyn in the 1991 NEC Semifinal for largest in postseason history.
Up Next
Saint Francis hosts the third-seeded Sacred Heart Pioneers on Saturday, Mar. 7, at noon. The Red Flash went 2-0 against Sacred Heart during the regular-season. It is the first postseason meeting between the two programs.
