WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Saint Francis drops an 88-74 decision at Central Connecticut State in Northeast Conference (NEC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon in New Britain, Connecticut.
>> Josh Cohen (Lincroft, N.J.) fueled the Red Flash with 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a block. The redshirt junior scored his 900th career point with 1:25 left in the first half.
>> Maxwell Land (Cincinnati, Ohio) added 18 points and seven rebounds.
>> The Red Flash is now 5-3 in NEC play with two more road games before returning home against Sacred Heart on February 9.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
After Cam Gregory (Accokeek, Md.) tied the game at 62 on two free throws with 7:35 left in the game, the Blue Devils scored 11 of the next 13 points to take a 73-64 lead with 5:07 remaining. 
 
The Red Flash was able to cut it to five points twice including after a Cohen basket with 2:57 on the clock, but Saint Francis did not score the rest of the game.

FLASH QUOTES
"Coming into this road trip we talked a lot about our defensive identity and something happened between the time we left Loretto to Teaneck and now to New Britain. To give a team 88 points is unacceptable. That game was lost in many ways in the first half when we allowed them to get too comfortable. Its that defensive edge you have to have every night. We came in here 5-1 and these guys need to understand when you have that record you get everybody's best punch. They are going to be focused. We need to make sure that we are focused for 40 minutes." - head coach Rob Krimmel on the game
 
"We have to be better the next time out and the flip of that is that we need to execute the offensive game plan effectively. It is something that we have to figure out as we get ready for two more road games next week." - Krimmel on moving on 

FLASH MOMENTS
Trailing 36-29 with 4:46 left in the first half, the Loretto program went on a 17-9 spurt that spilled over into the second half to take a 46-45 lead at 18:57 left in the second half. Cohen had six points in the run, while Land gave the squad the edge for the first time on a 3-pointer.
 
Cohen gave Saint Francis the lead one final time on the back end of two free throws at 16:17 for a 50-49 edge.

FLASH NUGGETS
Cohen has now posted 20 points in four-straight games for the first time in his career, and on the road, he has hit the total in seven-straight contests. The redshirt junior started the season with 456 career points and now has 457 points just this season in 21 tilts. The 457 points are the eighth most points in a single season under Krimmel. Cohen also has posted seven rebounds or more in seven-consecutive games and in 13 of his last 14 tilts.
 
Land, who reached 700 career points on Thursday at FDU, notched his third-straight game with double figures in points. The Cincinnati kid, who scored 20 points last year at CCSU, is averaging 15.4 points per game in seven career games in the state of Connecticut. He has also grabbed seven rebounds or more six times this season.
 
Gregory finished with nine points, while Brad McCabe (Manasquan, N.J.) registered eight points and four rebounds.
 
The Red Flash are 5-3 in NEC play to match its second-best start in team history with the 1989-90, 1997-98 and 2019-20 teams. 
 
Saint Francis is currently on a four-game road trip for the ninth time in program history. The best the other teams reached on these trips is 1-3 and the Red Flash have started the trip 0-2.

NEXT TIME OUT
Saint Francis returns to action at Stonehill on Thursday. Game time is 7 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN3.