An argument could be made the game was won and lost in the final minutes of the game, but if you look at the final 7:50 of the first half and the first nine minutes and 51 seconds, Saint Francis scored 12 points in that 17 minutes and 41 seconds. The Red Flash took its largest lead at 23-14 with 7:50 left after a crowd-electrifying dunk by Land. Despite going into the locker room with a 27-19 lead, the Mountaineers went on a 24-12 run over that next nearly 18 minutes to take the lead it would not relinquish. The host cutting the margin to two points in the final 8:28 Saint Francis was never able to knot the score.

FLASH QUOTES
"Another close basketball game, and I told the group we played well enough defensively to win a game. You hold a team to 54 points, you put yourself in a position to win a lot of basketball games with that kind of effort and intensity. We did some things, especially in the first half that allowed us to gain the lead. That game was lost starting the second half. I thought in the second half we came out and didn't execute offensively. We had two turnovers In our first three possessions. Offensively, I thought we got into too much one-on-one mode and not making reads to put each other in a position to get a better shot. I can't fault the effort of the guys, they played well. You look at all the numbers, everything is pretty much equal. Rebounding, three-point shots we did a really good job. In the second half, I thought offensively we didn't execute at the level we needed to execute offensively. Back to the drawing board tomorrow as we prepare for two more games here at home and take that next step as a program. We have understand that in order to to win you have to play for 40 minutes, not just 20 and then let off the gas on a really good experienced team for four minutes and then try to claw back." - head coach Rob Krimmel on the game
 
"He's being more aggressive consistently and that's important. We need that. There were times, especially as a freshman and even earlier this season, where he would kind of float. It's great as a coach to see that. To be aggressive, to be able to attack, to be in attack mode and do it with confidence." - Krimmel on Maxwell Land's growth this season

FLASH MOMENTS
Holding a 12-11 edge, the Loretto team went on an 11-3 run to take its largest lead at 23-14 with 7:50 left. Hargis led the way during this stretch with five points, while Brad McCabe (Manasquan, N.J.) added a trey and Land capped the run with a dunk off a feed from Ramiir Dixon-Conover (Newark, N.J.).

Trailing 38-32 in the final frame, the Red Flash scored six of the next eight points to cut the margin to 40-38 with 8:28 on the clock after a Cohen free throw. Hargis again was the catalyst for the spurt with five points. 

Mount St. Mary's took a 50-41 lead with 3:10 left in the game. A furious comeback attempt was put on by Saint Francis to make it a 52-50 margin with 11 seconds left. Dixon-Conover had four points down the stretch, while Hargis had a big traditional 3-point play with 11 seconds left in the 9-2 run for the Red Flash. The two teams traded points with Dixon-Conover racing down for a layup with five seconds left. The Mount missed both free throws, but Saint Francis could not coral the rebound and the Mountaineers were able to run out the clock.

FLASH NUGGETS
Hargis finished with eight rebounds for the second-straight game at DeGol Arena and the second time in the last three games. The senior has grabbed at least five rebounds eight times this season and 15 times in his two seasons in Loretto. Hargis also notched his eighth contest this season with 10+ points and 13th in his last two years.

Cohen posted his third 10-rebound game in his last four games and fourth in his last six tilts. He registered his second double-double in that stretch and his team-best sixth of the season. Cohen, who has six double-doubles in his career, also posted double figures in points for the third-straight game and his eighth time in his last 10 games. He is averaging 12.7 points and 8.0 rebounds in that span.

Land has posted double figures in a career-best five-straight games and six of his last seven tilts. He is averaging 13.7 points per game in that stretch.

Dixon-Conover finished with nine points.

Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa.) grabbed two rebounds for his 666th career rebound to move into a tie for 18th place on the program's all-time career rebounding list with Joe Anderson (666, 1987-91). Flagg will most likely end his career in 18th place since he needs 57 boards to move into 17th place.

Saint Francis is 1-4 this season in games decided by three points or less and 1-5 in games decided by five points or less.  

UP NEXT
Saint Francis returns to action on Thursday against LIU. The Red Flash fell to the Sharks 75-70 in overtime. LIU is also coming off a 99-88 win against Bryant on Saturday. Game time is 7 p.m.