» Josh Cohen (Lincroft, N.J.) and Ronell Giles, Jr. (Brandywine, Md.) combined for 19 points in the first half to help Saint Francis University open up a 46-23 lead against the University of Hartford going into the locker room. The Red Flash withstood a comeback attempt by the Hawks to earn an 81-66 win in the inaugural Jack Phelan Classic on Tuesday.
» Giles finished the game with a team-high 17 points and added four assists and three steals, while Cohen notched 15 points and five rebounds.
» Maxwell Land (Cincinnati, Ohio) also had 15 points, and Ramiir Dixon-Conover (Newark, N.J.) stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, six steals, five rebounds and five assists.
» The game was named the Jack Phelan Classic in honor of Jack Phelan, who played and graduated from Saint Francis from 1973-77, and was the head coach at Hartford for over a decade. Phelan was inducted into the Saint Francis Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019 and in the Hartford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009. He died in July 2020.
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME
The Red Flash went on a 42-18 run over the final 16 minutes of the first half to take its largest lead of the game at 46-23 going into the locker room. Giles gave Saint Francis the lead for good on a driving layup with 16:34 left in the opening frame. Along with Cohen's 10 points and Giles' nine points, Dixon-Conover and Land each had seven points in the first half. Hartford cut the margin to 62-55 with 8:54 on the clock, but Giles scored four-straight points and the Hawks did not cut the margin to single digits the rest of the way.
FLASH QUOTES
"Pleased with the way we came out defensively. I thought we had focus and energy that made things really difficult on them in the first half. Second half there was some stretches where I didn't think that we handled the defenses that they threw at well. At the end of the day being able to finish some plays and get some stops that we needed is something that we can build on and we look forward to our next opportunity to do that."
– head coach Rob Krimmel on the game
"A great opportunity to celebrate the life of Jack Phelan and what he meant to both Saint Francis and Hartford. The basketball and the coaching success that he had is well documented, but the stories of who he was as a person and the impact that he had here at the Hartford community. It lets our guys know in our locker room, yes, he did a lot of great things at Saint Francis and is a Hall of Famer, but when he left Loretto he led a Hall of Fame life and a great role model for our guys to follow. I appreciate John Gallagher's willingness to put together an event like this. Jack Phelan is someone that as a Saint Francis community that we are proud of, but to be able to come out here, compete and come out on the winning end is a privilege and an honor. We look forward to having the second edition of this game back in Loretto next year."
– Krimmel on the Jack Phelan Classic
FLASH MOMENTS
Giles' four points started a 19-11 run to end the game and seal the win. The sophomore had six points in the run.
Cohen scored in the lane with one minute remaining to give him six made field goals in the game. The redshirt sophomore was ranked fourth in the nation with a minimum of three field goals made per game. The six made in the game now gives him at least five made field goals a game to make him eligible for the NCAA Division I national rankings.
FLASH NUGGETS
Giles notched his second highest scoring output of the season with his 17 points. He has posted double figures in seven of the nine games this season and 19 times in his career. He has reached at least 17 points in a game five times in his career. He dished out four assists for the third time this season and the seventh time in his career. In addition, he has posted three steals in a game for the third time this year and fourth in his two-year career.
Cohen has posted at least 14 points in five of his last six games and is averaging 16.1 points per game in that stretch. He also hauled in five rebounds for the eighth-straight game. He has made 22 of his last 28 (.786) from the floor.
Land notched 15 points for the second time in three games and has at least three games with at least 15 points this season and five in his career. He made three triples in a game for the first time this season and third time in his career, while he hauled in six boards for the third time this season and sixth time in his two seasons in Loretto.
Dixon-Conover continues to light up the stat sheet. It is the third time this season he has posted at least 10 points, five assists and two steals. The six steals set a new career high for the red shirt senior. He becomes the third player this season to have at least 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and six steals against a Division I opponent this season
The 46 points in the first half were a season-high, while the 35 points in the second half were the second lowest this season. The squad shot 60 percent in a half for the third time this season and 50 percent in the game for the fifth-straight game. The win ends a two-game losing streak and the Red Flash improved to 4-1 when scoring 79 points in a game this season.
UP NEXT
Saint Francis heads to the University of Illinois on Saturday. Game time is 1 p.m. EST and can be seen on the BTN.
