WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> The "bigs" for Saint Francis men's basketball were a force on the offensive end and on the boards to power the Red Flash to a 107-54 win against Franciscan in non-conference men's basketball action on Wednesday.
>> Gestin Liberis (Havertown, Pa.) and Eli Wilborn (Middletown, Conn.) combined for 29 points and 20 rebounds for their first career double-doubles and career highs in both categories in the victory. Liberis finished with one point more than Wilborn with 15 points to 14 points, while Wilborn stuffed the stat sheet by adding two assists, two steals and two blocks on the night.
>> Aaron "Ace" Talbert (Wyandanch, N.Y.) led all scorers with a career-high 19 points, while Braylen Blue (Sun Prairie, Wisc.) found double figures for the first time finishing with 11 points off the bench. Miles Webb (Arlington, Va.) chipped in 10 points in the winning effort.
>> With the win, Saint Francis head coach Rob Krimmel is now one win away from his 150th victory as a head coach.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The Red Flash jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead and kept the throttle going throughout the night to register its second-straight win. Cam Gregory (Accokeek, Md.) got the scoring started with a 3-pointer 12 seconds into the contest before Wilborn slammed down his first points of the night at 18:58. After Bobby Rosenberger III (Quakertown, Pa.) scored on a fast-break layup 90 seconds into the contest, Chris Moncrief (Turtle Creek, Pa.) hit the backend of two free throws at 17:58 for an eight-point advantage.

FLASH QUOTES
"I thought as a group we took a step forward today. Some of the things that we challenged our guys after our last game was to be able to stack good plays. We were focused and that has been a big challenge for us. I thought these guys did a really good job putting one play on top of another and that's growth for this group. I'm pleased with the way we share the basketball and certainly growth and progress from one game to the next." – head coach Rob Krimmel on the game

"I thought we took a step last game and took care of the ball. We just didn't make enough shots. And then tonight, we took care of the ball and made those shots. You talk about being resilient as a group and being resilient as an individual. You have to struggle a little bit and there's some trial and error in those first couple of games for this new group coming together. You have to put yourself in a position to have some success and that success is measured in a lot of ways but tonight for us to see the ball go into the basket and execute was big for us." – Krimmel on taking steps

"We started our day with a service project at the Dorothy Day Center serving a Thanksgiving meal. They did a great job spreading some cheer and giving back their talents to the community." - Krimmel on community service project

"Personally, I think a big problem for me, at least starting out the season so far has been my motor. I've been kind of lackadaisical on defense and I haven't been rebounding as much. I kind of took it personally I was challenged by the coaches, and I think I kind of showed up today." – Gestin Liberis on his rebounding

"We started off the season with some bad losses so to finally get some wins and to see things going our way it feels really good. And it's all about stacking days like Coach Krimmel said." – Liberis on the win

FLASH MOMENTS
With the Frankies holding a 17-9 lead seven minutes into the game, the Loretto program rolled off the 28 of the next 33 points to take a 45-13 lead with 5:20 left in the opening frame. Liberis had 13 of his 15 points in this stretch including a dunk to cap the offensive outburst.
 
Saint Francis went on another run in the second half to extend a 26-point lead to 41 points with 11:55 remaining thanks to a 19-4 spurt over the span of seven minutes. Five different players registered points in the run with Talbert fueling the team with eight of his game-high 19 points in this stretch.
 
The Red Flash had one more surge to go at the end of the game, finishing the final eight minutes with a 28-9 run. Blue had a trio of threes in this stretch, while Moncrief and Aaron Humphrey, Jr. (Indianapolis, Ind.) each added five points apiece. It was also during this time that walk-ons KJ Swain, Jr. (Hamilton, Ohio), Blaze Angellotti (Julian, Pa.) and Ryen Gresko (Penn Run, Pa.) all made their collegiate debut. Swain registered his first career points at 1:28 left in the game, while sophomore Keshawn McNeill (Camp Zama, Japan) posted his first collegiate points on the night including a layup with 2:57 left. McNeill, who made his collegiate debut while the team was in California, finished with a career-high three points and dished out his first assist, and Swain ended with two points, an assist and a steal. Gresko also notched his first career statistic with a rebound.

FLASH NUGGETS
After having four players reach double figures for the first time this season two days ago, the Red Flash had five players with 10 or more points for the first time since at LIU on February 18, 2023 and had back-to-back games with at least four scorers in double figures for the first time since that LIU contest along with the game at St. Francis Brooklyn two days prior. Those two games along with a win against FDU on February 23, 2023 was the last time the team won consecutive games.
 
A 20-point scorer continues to allude Saint Francis after having a different player register 19 points in each of the last three games. Rosenberger, the current Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week, started the trend against Penn State on November 14 before Gregory had a career-best 19 points on Monday against Pitt Greensburg leading the way to Talbert's 19 points on Wednesday.
 
Liberis and Wilborn became the first two players of the 2023-24 iteration to register a double-double this season and on the team. The last time the Frankies had a player with a double-double was in the regular season finale last season against Wagner on February 25, 2023, while the last time two players turned the trick in the same game was also against Franciscan on November 15, 2021.
 
After not registering more than seven points in the four-game road trip, Talbert has registered at least 15 points in his first two games at DeGol Arena and is averaging 17.0 points per game at home this season.  The freshman is also shooting 14-for-17 from the floor, 3 of 4 from both 3-point range and the foul line in his last two games.
 
Since making his first collegiate start against Santa Clara on November 11, Wilborn is averaging 9.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while also adding seven blocks, six assists and five steals. The freshman registered double figures for the second-straight game after posting 10 points on Monday. The seven blocks are already the fifth most by a freshman under Krimmel.
 
Liberis notched his third career 10+ point game and his second of the season after recording 12 points in the season opener at UCLA on November 6. The sophomore was also a part of the five scorers the last time the Loretto program had five scorers in a game.
 
Blue became the seventh player to reach double figures this season and he finished the game by going 4-for-4 from the floor and 3 of 3 from behind the arc. He is now 4-for-11 on the year from the floor and 6 of 10 from long range.
 
Webb notched his second 10+ game of the season and his career after also scoring double figures at San Francisco on Nov. 9.

Gregory finished the game with seven points and four assists, while Moncrief tallied six points, four assists, three rebounds and a steal. Humphrey chipped in a career-high five points and four rebounds.
 
The 107 points were the eighth most scored by Saint Francis at DeGol Arena. It was the 11th time the Red Flash has scored over 100 points at home under Krimmel.

Saint Francis finished the game shooting 60.9 percent to connect on 60 percent of its shots for the first time since accomplishing the feat against St. Francis Brooklyn on January 20, 2023. It was the 10th time under Krimmel the team has hit 60 percent from the floor and the fourth highest percentage under the coach. In addition, the 24 assists were the fifth-most helpers the team has handed out under Krimmel. It was the 16th time under the head coach the squad has registered at least 20 assists in a game.

 

NEXT TIME OUT
Saint Francis returns to action on Saturday to complete a three-game homestand against Niagara. Game time is 4 p.m.