LORETTO, Pa. – Both teams ramped up the offense from a game that ended 18 hours prior, but Central Connecticut made the day difficult for the Saint Francis men's basketball team's three-point defense to earn a split of the series by downing the Red Flash, 85-77, Sunday afternoon.
The Blue Devils made 12 three-pointers against a Red Flash defense that entered the day in the top 20 nationally in three-point defense. Saint Francis made 11 of its own, but a second-half run turned the tide in favor of the visitors.
Freshman
Maxwell Land led five Saint Francis players in double figures with 16 points. Senior
Ramiir Dixon-Conover and redshirt sophomore
Bryce Laskey each made three shots from beyond the arc in double-digit scoring efforts.
Central Connecticut 85, Saint Francis 77
Records: Saint Francis (5-10, 4-7 NEC), Central Connecticut (4-10, 4-7 NEC)
Location: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)
COACH KRIMMEL'S COMMENTS
"I certainly give Donyell and his crew credit. To come in here and hit 12 threes… certainly a performance defensively that we need to take a look at the film and see why those threes went down. I thought we played like a young, immature team in the second half with our body language. I told the team that when you worry about things you can't control, you waste energy that should be used to correct the problem. It's a tough lesson to learn for a group of guys … It's certainly a tough one to swallow."
KEY MOMENTS
- The Blue Devils hit a three-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer and lead 34-33 at the break.
- Central Connecticut used a 10-0 run to jump out to a seven-point lead with 13 minutes to go in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Central Connecticut scored the game's first four points before Saint Francis responded with the next nine, as Land's jumper put the Red Flash in front 9-4 four minutes into the contest.
- Five quick points out of a media timeout courtesy of an alley-oop and a three gave the Blue Devils a 22-18 advantage and prompted a Red Flash timeout with 10:10 remaining in the half.
- Threes from redshirt freshman Luke Ruggery and junior Myles Thompson helped the Red Flash to a 26-24 lead, and after a Central Connecticut three-point play, back-to-back layups from Marlon Hargis gave Saint Francis a 30-27 lead with three minutes to go in the half.
- A three-pointer in the closing seconds of the half allowed Central Connecticut to take a 34-33 lead into the locker room.
- Saint Francis led 44-41 before Central Connecticut erupted for a 10-0 run to pull ahead 51-44 with 13 minutes remaining.
- The Blue Devils extended their lead to 78-66 with three minutes to play before the Red Flash cut the margin to eight. It was the closest SFU would come until it was matched for the final score.
STATS
- Land was 6-of-13 from the field and added five rebounds.
- Dixon-Conover scored 14 points, went 3-for-5 from three, and collected four assists.
- Laskey scored 13 points with three assists and two steals.
- Hargis contributed 12 points in 17 minutes off the bench, while Thompson chipped in with 11 points.
- Freshman Ronell Giles, Jr. dished out a team-high five assists.
- Saint Francis shot 51.9%, but CCSU was at 52.6%.
- The Red Flash was 11-of-24 (45.8%) from three – the team's best mark from distance this season.
- The Blue Devils held a 29-26 rebounding advantage.
GAME NOTES
- Saint Francis drops to 24-23 all-time against Central Connecticut.
- The defeat snapped a six-game Red Flash winning streak in the series and thwarted Saint Francis' first chance at a three-game winning streak this season.
UP NEXT
The Red Flash makes the trip to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for games Thursday and Friday at Merrimack. Both games are slated for 4 p.m. opening tips on NEC Front Row.
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To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit
francis.edu.
