The Knights took the lead for good with 13-2 run in the first half to break a 4-all standstill. The Red Flash came roaring back from a 19-point margin to cut it to 58-54 with 5:42 left, but a Brandon Rush 3-pointer and a backcourt violation sputtered the comeback attempt. Rush then put the final nail in when he hit a trey with 2:42 left.

FLASH QUOTES
"Disappointing way to end 2021. I just got done talking to our guys and the experience of being a part of a college basketball team is something that I cherish, and I know that those guys cherish too. We talk about family and the four years that you have together; you're going to have some tough times. For this game in particular, I don't think that we played for 40 minutes as hard as we needed to, to win the game. The thing we are struggling with right now is consistency and the consistency is an individual thing and it's a team thing. I love those guys in that locker room and I care for them. Part of the basketball experience is that you have to learn from your failure. You've got to be able to bounce back from a bad individual performance, but you've got to be able to bounce back from a bad team performance. Consistency is what we are looking for in our next opportunity to compete." - head coach Rob Krimmel on the performance tonight
 
"Every season that I've been the head coach, we've had a stretch that we just haven't played good basketball for whatever reason, injuries or we're just not playing well or there's a bump in the road. It's how we respond that is important." - Krimmel on the current skid
 
"They know I'm not pleased with the performance. I called that timeout at the end of the game so that they could soak in that last 12.8 seconds and start my conversation there. Because 94x50 is a sacred spot. We're only promised so many of those opportunities at home." - Krimmel on the game of basketball game that he cherishes
 
"I'm looking forward to the next time we practice and seeing these guys and the energy they are going to bring because I know they are going to bring it. And as a head coach that gives me confidence that we are going to find the solution. It may not be tomorrow, it might not be the day after tomorrow and it might not be the next game, but we are going to keep working until we find it." - Krimmel on moving forward

FLASH MOMENTS
Trailing 23-12, Marlon Hargis (Mays Landing, N.J.), Land and Ramiir Dixon-Conover (Newark, N.J.) scored three-straight baskets to make it a 23-19 deficit with 4:23 left in the first, but FDU closed the half on a run to take an 11-point lead into the locker room. 

After the Knights opened up a 46-27 lead with 16:20 on the clock in the second half, the Loretto program used a 27-12 run to make it a four-point game. Land powered the spurt with nine points.

FLASH NUGGETS
Cohen registered his seventh 10-point game of the season and first since posting 15 points at Harford on Dec. 14. It is the fifth time this season he has recorded 15 points or more in a contest this season. The redshirt sophomore, who has two double-doubles this season and three in his career, finished with nine rebounds. He has hauled in at least seven rebounds six times this season and 13 times in his career.

Land is the only player to register double figures in every home game this season and has seven double figure games this season. He is averaging 13.4 points per game at DeGol Arena this season.

After posting 15 points, six rebounds and three assists on Wednesday, Hargis registered nine points and four rebounds on Friday.

Dixon-Conover tallied seven points, seven rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block, but was held to single-digits for the second-straight game for only the second time in the last two years.

Ronell Giles, Jr. (Brandywine, Md.) also had his nine-game 10+ point streak stopped after averaging 15.1 points in the last nine games and leading the team in scoring in four of those contests. He finished the game with four points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Saint Francis has lost three-straight games at home for the first time since 2016-17, and have been held to under  70 points in its current four-game skid.

It was the eighth time the Red Flash has played on New Year's Eve, but the first time the game has taken place in Loretto. The team is 2-6 on the day before the start of a new calendar year.

The squad starts the league slate 0-2 for the second-straight season.

UP NEXT
Saint Francis starts a four-game road trip on Thursday at St. Francis Brooklyn. Game time is 7 p.m.