Trailing 71-58 with 5:38 left, the Red Flash went on a 14-2 run over the next five minutes to make it a 73-72 game with 46 seconds left thanks to a Ronell Giles, Jr. (Brandywine, Md.) jumper. Flagg, Dixon-Conover and Giles each had four points in the run and Maxwell Land (Cincinnati, Ohio) had the other basket in the run. Dixon-Conover registered a steal and then had his shot blocked with 5.4 seconds on the clock. Dixon-Conover threw the inbounds pass to Flagg, who missed the layup and the Colonials secured the rebounds to clinch the win.

FLASH QUOTES
"Absolutely loved it. It felt so good to hear the roar of the crowd, and even though it wasn't really for us, we had a great contingency of Saint Francis people. This is a great area for us. We have a lot of proud alums. Families were able to come down. That is what I love the most. These kids didn't get to play in front of their family last year and for them to be able to do that, I am so excited for our guys to be able to play in front of people again." - head coach Rob Krimmel on fans being back.

"He was tremendous down there, both offensively and defensively. There are some big guys over there (George Washington). I thought he did a great job. To have a guy get the ball on the block and score some easy baskets for us was huge." - Krimmel on Mark Flagg.

FLASH MOMENTS
Flagg gave Saint Francis a 2-0 lead at 19:39 and a 4-2 lead on a layup with 18:38 left in the first half for the only leads the Red Flash would have on the night.

After going into the locker room trailing 39-26, Saint Francis went on a 30-18 spurt to cut the margin to 57-56 midway through the second half. Dixon-Conover had six points in the run. Zahree Harrison (West Philadelphia, Pa.) had a chance to tie the game at 57, but missed the backend of two free throws. Marlon Hargis (Mays Landing, N.J.) made it a one-point game again with his shot off the glass with 10:21 left. George Washington then extended its lead back to double figures before the red Flash made one last comeback attempt.

FLASH NUGGETS
Flagg notched double figures in rebounds in a season-opener for the second time in his career after having 10 boards against Buffalo in 2018-19. It is the redshrt senior's foutth double-double of his career and first since posting back-to-back tricks to start the conference slate last year. Flagg also recorded 10+ points for his second-straight season opener..

Dixon-Conover, who led the team in scoring last season with 15.5 points per game, notched his 20th career 10-point game. He had 21 points in last year's season-opening win against Pittsburgh.

Giles and Land each finished with nine points, while Myles Thompson (Camden, N.J.) registered nine points and six rebounds.

Saint Francis is now 36-36 in season openers since the 1950-51 season.

UP NEXT
The Red Flash will make its 2021-22 DeGol Arena debut on Monday against Franciscan University. Game time is 7 p.m.