WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Saint Francis went into the locker room at halftime tied with No. 25 University of Miami in non-conference men's basketball action on Saturday. The Hurricanes pulled away in the second half to earn a 91-76 decision.
>> Coming off his second 40-point game of the season, redshirt junior Josh Cohen (Lincroft, N.J.) posted 30 points and nine rebounds.
>> Freshman Landon Moore (Bloomington, Ill.), who tied his career-high of 16 points by halftime, notched a career-high 25 points along with dishing out five assists.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The Red Flash had the ball and leading 37-35 in the waning seconds of the first half before a turnover and a Miami basket as time expired to knot the contest going into the locker room after 20 minutes.
 
The Hurricanes then scored the first seven points of the second half and extended its advantage to double figures at the 12-minute mark and never looked back to earn their third win against the Loretto program.

FLASH QUOTES
"For the first time this year, I thought the second-half execution was pretty good. That is obviously a very talented team being in the Top-25 and I liked the way we responded especially when they started going on a run. You talk about baby steps and being able to compete in a game like that. For 20 minutes our guys were locked in. I think for the first time when you talk about a 40-minute basketball game we played hard and we played together and sometimes that is not enough when you are playing a Top-25 talented team. I was pleased with the way our guys executed. I thought Josh and Landon played well off each other. They knew that Josh had a hot hand and did a good job of executing plays when we needed it. Our job is to fine tune it." – head coach Rob Krimmel on the game
 
"I want to make sure that we execute against Robert Morris the way we executed today both offensively and defensively. To do things a little bit better and to make sure as a group we continue to take those steps. We to make sure that we execute our stuff and continue to get better as we prepare for Northeast Conference play." – Krimmel on the next game at Robert Morris
 
FLASH MOMENTS
Trailing 14-12, Saint Francis scored the next eight points to take a 20-14 advantage midway through the first half. Cohen scored six of the eight points while Moore added a basket in the run.
 
The Hurricanes came back to the lead at 21-20 only to see the Red Flash score seven of the next nine points. Marlon Hargis (Mays Landing, N.J.) and Brad McCabe (Manasquan, N.J.) each had a 3-ball in the spurt. After a Miami basket, Ronell Giles, Jr. (Brandywine, Md.) had a nice move and a layup to restore a four-point lead, the last time it held a two-possession edge. It was a nice play by Giles, who is starting to gain confidence and returning from an injury.
 
With Miami holding a 35-34 edge, Moore scored on a layup and converted a free throw to complete the traditional 3-point play to give the Loretto team its last lead at 37-35 with 46 seconds left in the stanza. A missed shot and a rebound by Cohen and the Red Flash were playing for the last shot of the half and to extend its lead, but a turnover and a dunk sent the two teams into the intermission tied at 37.
 
In the second half with the Hurricanes holding a 50-41 margin, Saint Francis scored the next five points on a Cohen basket and a Moore triple to trim the deficit to 50-46 with 14:12 on the clock. 

FLASH NUGGETS
Cohen, who joined elite company after scoring 40 points for the second time this season against Hawai'I on Sunday, has scored double figures in all 12 games this season with five games over 20 points and now three contests with 30 points or more. Cohen and Stokes are the only two players in program history to post a pair of 40-point games in a single season and/or career. In addition, the current Northeast Conference (NEC) co-Player of the Week has registered at least seven rebounds in each game he has scored at least 20 points in a game including nine rebounds in each game over 30 points. Cohen came into the year with his Top-4 scoring games coming at home, but has eclipsed all of those marks in his last two games. Cohen now has the Top-3 scoring games for the NEC this season, but his 30-point game is tied with Isaiah Burnett of Stonehill thanks to his 30-point effort against Holy Cross on November 15. Cohen is the first player in the NEC since Rob Monroe in 2004-05 to score 40-points twice and have a 30-point game. Monroe had four 30-point games to go with his two 40-point performances. Cohen was the first opposing player against Miami with a 30-point outing versus the Hurricanes since Buddy Boeheim on March 5, 2022 at Syracuse.
 
Moore established a new career high and becomes the seventh player on the roster and the third player this season to score 20 points in a game, joining Cohen and Maxwell Land (Cincinnati, Ohio). The trio also are the only players on the roster to score 25 points or more in a game on the roster. The freshman was 8-for-34 with 26 points in his last four games before Saturday, but was 7-for-11 from the floor 2 of 4 from behind the arc and 4 of 4 from the foul line. He also had five assists for the fifth time in 2022-23.
 
It was the first time that two players scored 20 points in a game since Cohen had 21 points and Land added 20 points in the regular season finale last season against Sacred Heart on Feb. 24, 2022. It was also the first time the Red Flash had a player with 30 points and one with 20 points since November 19, 2009 when Devin Sweetney had 30 points and Cedric Latimer added 23 points against the Leopards.
 
McCabe added nine points and six rebounds.
 
Saint Francis led the game for 12 minutes and 34 seconds against Miami and held a lead against Butler for nine minutes and 14 seconds. Both occasions the lead was in the first half. 
 
The Red Flash played the No. 25 team in the country after also battling No. 25 Ohio State on December 3. It was the first time Saint Francis has played multiple ranked opponents in the same season since 2018-19 when the squad faced No. 20 UCLA (L, 95-98), No. 7 North Carolina (L, 76-101) and No. 13 Virginia Tech (L, 37-75).  

NEXT TIME OUT
Saint Francis wraps up non-conference play at Robert Morris on Wednesday. Game time is 7 p.m.