BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team erased a 15-point first-half deficit to battle back for a halftime lead, but the turnover bug spoiled the Red Flash's return to action Thursday night in a 78-75 loss at Long Island.
Freshman
Ronell Giles, Jr. scored a career-high 19 points and the Red Flash received double-doubles from senior
Mark Flagg and junior
Myles Thompson. The Red Flash shot a season-best 50.8% percent from the field in the defeat.
Long Island 78, Saint Francis 75
Records: Saint Francis (1-5, 0-2), Long Island (2-1, 2-1)
Location: Steinberg Wellness Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
COACH KRIMMEL'S COMMENTS
"It's certainly good to be on the court after a long layoff. It was good to prepare for an opponent, have these guys on the road and put ourselves in a position to play another game. It was certainly not the start we had hoped or planned for – give LIU credit, they came out and jumped on us early.
The thing I'm most pleased with is how we settled into a rhythm, got some good minutes from our bench, and put ourselves in a position to win the game down the stretch. It has to be a short-term memory to come back and play these guys at 4:00."
KEY MOMENTS
- The Red Flash dug themselves into an early 19-4 hole, but answered with a 12-0 run to get back into the contest.
- Saint Francis erased the deficit to lead 39-38 at the half.
- An 8-2 LIU stretch late in the second half pushed the Red Flash deficit from one to seven and the visitors were not able to pull even the rest of the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- LIU jumped out to a 19-4 advantage at the midway point of the first half.
- The Red Flash responded with a 12-0 run to pull back within three at 19-16 on a three-point play from Flagg with 7:22 to go in the half.
- A Thompson layup would knot the contest at 29 with 2:35 remaining before halftime, and after LIU retook the lead, Saint Francis took a one-point lead going into the half on a basket from freshman Zahree Harrison to lead 39-38 at the break.
- The teams traded the lead back and forth for the first 10 minutes of the second half, and after a Giles three got the Red Flash back within 63-62, both teams went scoreless for an even two minutes.
- A Giles jumper broke a 2:20 drought for the Red Flash before SFU was held off the scoreboard for another 2:53, as a dunk from senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover cut the deficit to 69-66 with 5:02 to play.
- The Sharks would lead by seven before baskets from Flagg and Thompson helped SFU back to within 73-70 with 2:43 to go.
- A Dixon-Conover three cut the deficit to two at 75-73, but a go-ahead three wouldn't fall, and LIU earned its final three points at the line while working around a Giles basket with 13 seconds to go.
STATS
- Giles was 8-of-11 from the field and added four assists and three steals in his career-high 19-point effort.
- Thompson recorded 14 points and a career-best 14 rebounds.
- Flagg tallied 11 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks.
- Land scored 11 points and led all Red Flash players with nine in the first half.
- Dixon-Conover scored nine points and added a career-best six assists.
- Saint Francis shot a season-high 50.8%, while LIU was at 43.5%.
- The Red Flash out-rebounded the Sharks, 40-34.
- Saint Francis tallied a season-high 21 assists in the contest.
- The Red Flash committed 27 turnovers in the contest, including 18 in the first half.
GAME NOTES
- Saint Francis falls to 40-41 all-time against Long Island and 8-9 in the Rob Krimmel era.
- The 21 assists were the most since Feb. 7, 2019, when SFU dished out 23 in a win over Central Connecticut.
- The game was the Red Flash's first since December 8 at Mount St. Mary's.
- The contest was the first of eight back-to-backs for Saint Francis in conference play.
UP NEXT
The Red Flash and Sharks meet again in Brooklyn Friday at 4 p.m. The game can be seen on NEC Front Row
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To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit
francis.edu.
