After Ruggery gave Saint Francis a 76-70 lead with 4:58 left, the Bulldogs closed the game on a 19-6 run to earn the come-from behind victory. The Red Flash was 2 of 5 from the field with five turnovers in the final five minutes.Cohen gave the Loretto program the lead for the final time with a jumper at 78-77 with 2:22 on the clock.

FLASH QUOTES
"We are going to get better and work on it. Free throw and rebounding. Those two things. The margin for error is so slim. We can't give teams second chances and a third chance. I thought with under four minutes to go, we got them to take some shots that we needed them to take, and we just didn't finish those plays. When we look at the numbers, the free throws and the rebounding. When you try to take that two-possession lead to maybe a three or four possession lead, it's defensively limiting them to one shot and then offensively executing and knocking down free throws." - head coach Rob Krimmel on the game
 
"I thought it was huge. Luke's had some minutes and opportunities and has played really well. Him and Zahree have been our energy guys off the bench. They have really embraced that role. Brad has had such an up and down year, just because of other circumstances. Being sick and little injuries here and there. Coming into this season he was playing really well and actually saw time early against George Washington and hit a stride and then had more bumps in the road, but he never had a bad attitude. He kept coming to practice and on the scout team, not hanging his head and not being negative or asking why he's not playing. It's neat to see him have that success and same thing with Luke. Both of these guys were on our scout team yesterday." - Krimmel on the play of McCabe and Ruggery
 
"I heard my number get called and I just put my back against the wall with my teammates. Coaches were all telling me, just go in there, play hard and rebound. I was thinking that much out there. I just wanted to play my heart out and give us good luck. We came up a little short with free throws and second opportunities, but I thought our team really put our backs against the wall and played hard." - McCabe on the game
 
"We know it starts with the team mentality by playing together and working together. I thought we did a really good job of huddling up really quickly and making sure everyone was on the same page. That's how we executed down the floor in the second half. Getting Cohen some looks on the block and being able to space out the floor. It just felt like everyone was on the same page tonight and I think we've really progressed with that type of mentality. It showed up tonight for us pretty well and we came up short, but that's something to build on for sure." - Ruggery on the game

FLASH MOMENTS
Trailing 54-44, Saint Francis went on a 32-16 run to take a 76-70 lead with 4:58 left in the game. Dixon-Conover registered 11 points while Ruggery and McCabe both hit a pair of clutch treys in the run. 

The Red Flash grabbed a 16-12 lead thanks to an untraditional 3-point play. Bryant held a one-point edge before Zahree Harrison (West Philadelphia, Pa.) gave the Loretto team a 13-12 lead on a layup. He missed the free throw, but Cohen grabbed the rebound and Land drained a triple for a four-point possession. 

Ruggery was part of a second four-point play after he nailed a shot from long distance and was fouled on the play. The redshirt sophomore then hit the free throw to tie the game at 20. 

The Bulldogs pulled ahead 31-26, but the Red Flash answered with a 9-2 run to grab a 35-33 lead with 3:52 left in the opening frame. Land hit two from three and Dixon-Conover added another triple in this stretch. Bryant went into the locker room with a 38-37 edge.

FLASH NUGGETS
Dixon-Conover reached 20 points in a game for the fourth time this season with three of the four coming at DeGol Arena. The 22 points are one off his career best against Bucknell on Dec. 1. He now has nine 20-point performances in his career. In addition, he moved over 700 points for his career and now stands at 708 points. The redshirt senior also returned to his staff stuffing with his 12th game with at least five rebounds, 16th game with at least three assists and his 13th game with at least two steals this season. He also notched five thefts in a game for the fifth time in his career.

McCabe, who had 10 career points in 13 career games, notched 11 points in 18 minutes on Thursday. The redshirt sophomore had three made field goals and two from behind the arc in his career before hitting four shots with three from long-range on the night. He also added three rebounds, an assist and a steal two days after his birthday.

Ruggery also found double figures in the game for the first time in his career. The co-captain had a previous career-high nine points against Bucknell. The local product from Bishop Guilfoyle notched a career-high 27 minutes and is averaging 16.8 minutes per game off the bench. 

Land has registered double figures in six of the eight games in Loretto this season and he is averaging 14.5 points per game in his last four contests. He also did his best Dixon-Conover stat stuffing imitation with five rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block against Bryant.

Cohen, who has four career double-doubles, missed turning the trick by two points. It is the second time this season he missed a double-double by one stat after having 15 points and nine rebounds against Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 31. The redshirt sophomore has five double figure performances in his last seven games.

The Red Flash has scored 80 points in a game for the sixth time this season and the fourth time at home. The squad is 4-2 in games it hits 80 points in a game and 5-2 when it reaches 79 points.

UP NEXT
Saint Francis returns to action on Saturday against Merrimack. Game time is 2 p.m.