With the Red Flash holding a 22-16 lead with 6:21 left in the first half, Robert Morris went on a 15-2 run to take the lead it would not relinquish. Despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the second half, the Loretto program made it a four-point game with two minutes and 25 seconds left. A missed Colonials shot and a defensive rebound gave Saint Francis a chance to make it a one-possession game, but missed on two shot attempts and Robert Morris went on for the eight-point win.

FLASH QUOTES
"I thought we played together. I thought we did a good job – we shared the basketball, 16 assists on 22 field goals, for the most part took care of the basketball. I think the game came down to one statistic and one statistic alone, and that was offensive rebounds. That is a statistic that indicates a lot of times that a team just wants that particular ball more. When it happens repeatedly in a game, it means that the team won it – wants the game more. I thought there was a stretch where we played, we got the shots that we wanted, but we didn't prevent them from getting that second opportunity. Certainly disappointed we are going into Christmas like this, but I told these guys if they learn from this and the next opportunity we have to compete we make sure we play harder than our opponent. We will learn from this lesson." - head coach Rob Krimmel on the game

FLASH MOMENTS
Giles and Thompson each had three points in the first three minutes of the game as the Red Flash opened up its largest lead at 10-2 with 16:11 left in the first half. Saint Francis held a six-point lead six times in the first 13 minutes and 39 seconds of the game.

With Robert Morris holding a 64-48 lead with 7:40 left, the Red Flash went on a 17-5 run to cut the margin to 69-65 with 2:25 left after a pair of Dixon-Conover free throws. Land registered seven of his 11 points during this stretch.

FLASH NUGGETS
Dixon-Conover notched his second-straight 20-point performance at DeGol Arena after scoring a career-high 23 points against Bucknell 21 days ago. He now has two 20-point games for the season and seven for his career. The redshirt senior has registered double figures in nine of the 10 games this season including five games with at least 16 points. After not registering a rebound for the first time in 31 games, Dixon-Conover corralled his second-highest total of the season with seven boards and has at least five caroms seven times this season. In addition, he dished out at least four assists for the sixth time and had two steals for the seventh time on the year.

Thompson recorded consecutive double-figure performances for the first time this season after his 14-point performance on Wednesday and 12 points at Illinois on Saturday. He has scored double figures five times this season and 41 times in his career.

Giles had 12 points to notch his eighth-straight game in double figures. He also added three assists to hand out at least three helpers for the fourth time in the last five games.

Land has recorded double figures five times in his sophomore campaign including all three games at DeGol Arena. He is averaging 13.5 points per game at home this season. He also added five rebounds for the fourth time this season and has recorded 21 assists in his last eight games.

Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa.) added four points, seven rebounds and two assists. He helped tip the ball ahead to Giles on the opening tip for an easy basket. He now needs two assists for 100 for his career.

The last time these two teams played was the beginning of the end because two days after the title bout, CoVID-19 shut down the athletic arena. The rivalry was put on hold last season and with Robert Morris joining the Horizon League it took on new meaning. The Colonals ended a six-game winning streak by the Red Flash at DeGol Arena.

It was also the final non-conference home game of the year and Saint Francis' finished the slate 4-7. The squad has won at least four non-conference home games in six of the last eight years under head coach Rob Krimmel. 

UP NEXT
Saint Francis returns to action after Christmas and starts Northeast Conference play against the defending regular season champion and preseason favorite against Wagner on Dec. 29 in Loretto. Game time is 7 p.m.