LORETTO, Pa. – Senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover and freshman Ronell Giles, Jr. led the offensive attack as the Saint Francis men's basketball team earned a split of the series with St. Francis Brooklyn thanks to an 80-66 victory Friday afternoon at DeGol Arena.
 
Dixon-Conover led all scorers with 21 points and Giles added 20 for the Red Flash, which recorded its second-best field-goal percentage of the year at 52.9%. Senior Mark Flagg added 11 points and was one of four Saint Francis players with at least six rebounds.
 
Saint Francis 80, St. Francis Brooklyn 66
Records: Saint Francis (6-13, 5-10 NEC), St. Francis Brooklyn (5-8, 5-7 NEC)
Location: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)
 
COACH KRIMMEL'S COMMENTS
"We didn't get off to a great start, but we found a way to chip away and even be up a point at halftime. As I told the group after the game, maybe outside of Sacred Heart since the start of 2021, it's the best we've paid attention to detail offensively and defensively. I thought we got great lifts from everybody that played in the first half. Zahree Harrison gave us a lift; Marlon gave us a lift and we played him in a position we haven't in his 10 games. Ramiir was steady and we were able to get some things around the basket to allow us to extend the lead.
 
I'm certainly proud of the group and the way they responded to come off a hard-fought game last night, come back, and beat a well-coached St. Francis Brooklyn team."
 
KEY MOMENTS

• The Terriers led 14-6 six minutes into the contest – their largest lead of the night.
• A three from junior Marlon Hargis gave Saint Francis a 39-38 halftime lead.
• A 16-4 Red Flash run led by eight points from Dixon-Conover and six from Giles extended the advantage to double digits and would remain at least eight for the rest of the night. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Coach Krimmel took a timeout 86 seconds into the contest after two Terrier baskets.
• The visitors extended their lead to 14-6 on a three-point play with 14:02 remaining.
• The Red Flash responded with eight straight to tie the game on a free throw from redshirt freshman Josh Cohen with 12:14 to play in the half.
• A three from Giles tied the game at 29 with 4:40 to play in the half.
• The Terriers jumped back in front before a three from Hargis with 27 seconds remaining in the half gave the Red Flash a 39-38 lead that would hold up until halftime.
• Saint Francis pushed the lead to eight early in the second half on a Giles jumper that beat the shot clock, putting the Red Flash ahead 54-46 with 13:32 to go.
• A Giles dunk in transition extended the lead to 58-48, prompting a Terrier timeout with 12:23 on the clock. Another Giles jumper got the lead to 12.
• A Giles three ballooned the lead to its largest of the night at 78-59 with 2:01 to play.
• The quintet of senior Dan Henry, junior A.J. Labriola, sophomore Ben Seidel, redshirt freshman Brad McCabe and freshman Jeriah Coleman took the floor for the final minute to seal the victory for the Red Flash. 

STATS

• Dixon-Conover was 11-of-11 at the line while adding six rebounds and four assists.
• Giles contributed six rebounds and three assists.
• Cohen contributed a team-high seven rebounds as the Red Flash held a 34-28 advantage on the glass.
• Four Saint Francis players – Cohen, Giles, Hargis, and junior Myles Thompson – recorded a block.
• The Red Flash were 21-of-24 (87.5%) from the free-throw line.
• SFU led for 20:01 of the 40-minute contest.

GAME NOTES

• The Red Flash improves to 46-41 all-time against the Terriers and has won seven of the last 10 meetings.
• Dixon-Conover led the team in scoring for the 11^th time this season.
• Flagg was in double figures for the 30^th time in his career.

UP NEXT 
The Red Flash travels to Staten Island for two games next weekend at Wagner. The series opener is slated for Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.
 
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To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.