LORETTO, Pa. – Senior
Ramiir Dixon-Conover scored a team-high 18 points and junior
Marlon Hargis provided a double-digit scoring effort for the second-straight game to begin his Red Flash career, but a cold-shooting first half did in the Saint Francis men's basketball team in a 72-63 setback against Bryant on Friday evening at DeGol Arena.
Saint Francis was held without a three-pointer in the opening half and went 3-of-22 from beyond the arc in the second game of a back-to-back. Hargis added 12 points and eight rebounds in his second game in an SFU uniform. Redshirt freshman
Josh Cohen tallied career highs of nine points and eight rebounds.
The Red Flash held a Bulldog team that entered the series fourth nationally in scoring at 91.4 points per game to 82 points in Thursday's win and a season-low 72 Friday.
Bryant 72, Saint Francis 63
Records: Saint Francis (2-7, 1-4), Bryant (10-3, 6-2)
Location: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)
COACH KRIMMEL'S COMMENTS
"I thought we took a step forward today defensively. After a hard-fought game last night, we came in with a focus defensively. A lot of that credit goes to
Eric Taylor and
Andy Helton, the guys that do a bulk of our scouting and are responsible for our defense. We played well enough defensively to win the game.
Going up against a team like Bryant, who is so potent on offense, you have to knock down some shots. We went 3-for-22 from three and one or two of them were bad shots. In the game of basketball, you have to be able to make shots. You only get so many stops and you need to convert those into points. But I thought we took a step forward defensively."
KEY MOMENTS
- The Bulldogs opened the contest on a 14-4 run over the game's first six minutes and led the rest of the way.
- SFU cut the deficit to four in the closing seconds of the first half, but Bryant would grow its advantage back to 12 with a run that spanned both halves.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Bryant jumped out to an early 14-4 lead, prompting an SFU timeout with 13:56 remaining in the opening half.
- The Red Flash would cut the deficit to within four on four straight points from Hargis, pulling within 30-26 with 13 seconds remaining before halftime.
- A three-pointer from the Bulldogs gave the visitors a 33-26 halftime advantage. The Red Flash was held without a made three in the opening half.
- Bryant extended its lead to 12 early in the second half and led by at least eight until layups from freshman Zahree Harrison and junior Myles Thompson brought the Red Flash within 58-51 with 8:14 remaining.
- The Bulldogs would grow their advantage again before a Thompson layup cut the margin to 64-57 with 2:52 to go, but the Red Flash was unable to pull closer than seven for the remainder of the contest.
STATS
- Dixon-Conover went 8-of-16 from the field and added five rebounds, three assists, and five steals.
- Hargis was 5-of-10 shooting and grabbed eight boards.
- Cohen played 18 minutes off the bench and was 4-of-6 from the field while recording eight rebounds and a block.
- Redshirt sophomore Bryce Laskey knocked down all three of Saint Francis' shots from outside.
- Bryant shot 37.5% from the field, slightly outpacing SFU's 37.0%. The Bulldogs were 41% from three, while the Red Flash were at 13.6%.
- Bryant out-rebounded Saint Francis, 44-41.
- The Red Flash limited the turnovers to nine while recording seven steals off 15 Bryant miscues.
- Saint Francis scored 44 of its 63 points in the paint and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds.
- The Red Flash converted on six of nine free-throw attempts, while the Bulldogs were 20-of-25.
GAME NOTES
- Saint Francis drops to 15-11 all-time against Bryant. The teams split the regular-season series for the third-consecutive year.
- Dixon-Conover averaged 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 3.5 steals in the weekend series.
- Bryant's Hall Elisias collected 20 rebounds, good for the Bulldogs' Division I single-game record.
UP NEXT
The Red Flash travels to Connecticut for two games next week at Sacred Heart. The series opener is slated for Thursday at 7 p.m. on NEC Front Row.
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To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit
francis.edu.
