» The forecast for Loretto is freezing rain, but in the Nutmeg state it was raining threes to propel Saint Francis University men's basketball to a 79-63 win against Central Connecticut State in Northeast Conference men's basketball action on Thursday.
» Maxwell Land (Cincinnati, Ohio) tied his career high with 20 points thanks to going 7-for-11 from the field and 6 of 8 from behind the arc. It is the third time he has scored 20 points in a game this season.
» Josh Cohen (Lincroft, N.J.) added 19 points and eight rebounds, while Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa.) (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Brad McCabe (Manasquan, N.J.) (13 points) also found double figures on the night.
» With the win, the Red Flash head into the final regular season game in a four-way tie with Central Connecticut State, Fairleigh Dickinson and Sacred Heart. With a win against Sacred Heart on Saturday, the team will be the No. 6 seed in the postseason.
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME
Saint Francis opened the game on a 9-0 run thanks to seven points from McCabe. The squad then started the second half strong with a 16-4 run to start the second half. Cohen and Flagg each had four points in the run and the Red Flash never lost a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
FLASH QUOTES
"Coming on the road to win a basketball game is a good feeling. I am proud of the way our guys competed on both ends of the floor. We challenged our guys to rebound and contest every shot and I thought our guys did a fantastic job. We had 19 second chance points so we had a great surge on the glass to go along with the 3-point shooting of Maxwell and Brad. We also shared the basketball with 18 assists on 29 baskets and really looking for our shot not my shot."
– said head coach Rob Krimmel about the game
"Our formula will be the same on Saturday. We need to share the basketball, contest the glass, rebound and limit their shots. If we do that we should have a chance for a good outcome on Saturday."
– Krimmel on the next game
FLASH MOMENTS
After the Blue Devils cut the margin to 19-15 with 8:45 left, Saint Francis went on a 7-0 run to take a 26-15 lead with 6:07 left in the first half. Cohen had five of the seven points in the run.
Saint Francis took an 18-point lead with 14:45 left in the second half only to see the Blue Devils cut the margin to 12 points at the 12:10 mark. A barrage of 3-balls extended the Red Flash advantage to 71-49 with 5:05 on the clock. During that seven-minute stretch, Saint Francis hit five from behind the arc. Land led the way with three, while
Luke Ruggery (Duncansville, Pa.) and McCabe also dialed up long distance. The Loretto program went on a 17-7 run with all the points except a Flagg layup coming from the 3-point variety.
FLASH NUGGETS
Land has posted exactly a 20-point game three times this season after also having 20 points at LIU on January 8 and against Sacred Heart in Loretto on January 23. Land becomes the first player since Isaiah Blackmon nailed eight triples against Central Connecticut State on January 4, 2020 to hit six from behind the arc in a game. It was the second-straight road game a player hit at least five from downtown on the road after McCabe had five treys at FDU on February 10. He is averaging 13.5 points per game in his last 10 games that also started when he hit 20 points in a game the last time. He has also grabbed at least five rebounds in the last three games and is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game in his last three tilts.
Cohen notched his sixth game with at least 18 points and is averaging 18.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in his last six games. Cohen also added four assists and a block. He had at least four assists for the third time this season.
Flagg notched his second double-double in his last three games and fourth of the season. He also stuffed the stat sheet with a carer-high matching five assists along with three steals and one block. With the 12 rebounds, the redshirt senior only needs seven rebounds for 700 caroms in his career.
McCabe continues his Thursday special, notching his third game in double figures on the night in his last four Thursdays. He is averaging 12.8 points per game on the Must See TV day of the week dating back to when he jumped on the scene against Bryant on February 3. He also grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and has grabbed at least five rebounds in a game in five of his last six tilts.
Saint Francis made at least 10 treys in a game for the fourth time this season and for the second-straight road game. The team also shot over 50 percent in a game for the eighth time this season and for the first time since the two Connecticut schools were in Loretto on January 21 and 23.
The win ended a three-game losing streak, but gave the team a two-game road winning streak after its 780-65 win against FDU on February 10. Its the first time the team has won back-to-back road games since the 2019-20 season when it won three-straight away from DeGol Arena.
UP NEXT
Saint Francis wraps up the regular season on the road at Sacred Heart on Saturday. Game time is 2 p.m.
