WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Iona used a 3-pointer to take the lead with 1:42 left and then iced the game at the free throw line to defeat Saint Francis 61-54 in non-conference men's basketball action on Sunday.
>> Cam Gregory (Accokeek, Md.) paced the Red Flash with 17 points.
>> Eli Wilborn (Middletown, Conn.) tallied his second-straight double-double with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
>> Saint Francis returns to action and starts a three-game homestand to end the 2023 calendar year against Mount St. Mary's on Friday night.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
In the last two games prior to Sunday, the Frankies were able to use a late run to secure the win on the road. The Gaels, the defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament champions, gave the Red Flash some taste of its own medicine by closing the game on a 12-5 run over the final three minutes.
 
Wilborn, the current Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week, gave the Red Flash its final lead at 51-49 with 3:44 left. Iona then took a two-point lead thanks to an unconventional 4-point play at 53-51 with 2:44 on the clock. Gregory tied the game at 53 on two charity tosses at 2:37, but a 3-pointer with 1:42 left gave Iona the lead it would not relinquish and then sealed the win with five freebies at the line.

FLASH QUOTES
"I was pleased with our effort after 40 minutes battling against a very good basketball team. I thought we got some good clean looks at the end of the game, just did not knock them down. Despite not playing our best offensive game, it is a credit to the way these guys battled and competed. Iona made a few more plays down the stretch than we did, but it's a game that we can build on with a game that these guys left everything out on the court. I am proud of their efforts and looking forward to getting back on the court with them as we prepare for our next opponent in the next couple of day." – head coach Rob Krimmel on the game

FLASH MOMENTS
The Red Flash jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first four minutes. Carlos Lopez, Jr. (Egg Harbor Township, Pa.) got the scoring started on a backdoor cut pass from Wilborn 14 seconds into the game. Gregory then nailed a pair of 3-balls sandwiched in between an Iona basket at 19:16 and 16:32 for the six-point advantage with 16:08 remaining in the first half.
 
After an 8-0 run by the Gaels, Chris Moncrief (Turtle Creek, Pa.) sank a triple from the corner at 12:33 and Wisler Sanon II (Sicklerville, N.J.) converted two free throws for a 5-0 run to retake the edge at 13-10 with eight minutes into the night.
 
Trailing 21-17, the Frankies went on a 7-0 run to take a 24-21 margin. Bobby Rosenberger III (Quakertown, Pa.) started the surge with two free throws at 3:25 before Gestin Liberis (Havertown, Pa.) registered the final five points for Saint Francis in the half. The sophomore scored in the lane at 1:54 before making 1 of 2 at the line at 1:32 and then converted two charity tosses at 1:11 for a three-point edge. Iona would score the final four points to take a 25-24 margin going into the locker room.
 
In the second half, the Gaels took its largest lead of the night at 47-40 midway through the second half. The Frankies responded with a 9-0 run to grab a 49-47 lead with 4:44 remaining. Wilborn powered the run with four points, while Gregory gave Saint Francis the lead on a pull-up jumper. 

FLASH NUGGETS
Gregory stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, six rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks. The rebound, steal and block totals were new career highs for the sophomore, who has posted double figures in back-to-back games for the second time this season and registered 10 or more points six times in the first 10 games. The 17 points are the third-most points he has scored this season behind his career-high 22 points against another MAAC school, Niagara, on November 25 and 19 points against Pitt Greensburg on November 20. They are also the most points he has posted away from Loretto in his career.
 
Coming off an 11-point, 11-rebound affair at American on December 2, Wilborn tallied 10 points, a career-high 13 boards and a career-tying three blocks on Sunday. It was the freshman's second-straight double-double and the third of his career. Wilborn has registered double figures in points in three-straight games and five times in his last six games and is averaging 9.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in that stretch. In addition, he has notched three blocks three times in his last six games and has 15 blocks in his last eight tilts. 
 
Lopez added seven points and a career-best five rebounds and five assists in his first start since appearing in the starting lineup in the first three games of the season. The freshman is averaging 9.0 points per game in his last three contests.
 
Liberis chipped in seven points and four rebounds.
 
The loss ended a two-game winning streak by the Red Flash, its first non-conference road winning streak since 2019-20. The Frankies have now battled two MAAC schools that were in the MAAC Semifinals last season against each other in Niagara and Iona with the Gaels going on to win the league title. 

NEXT TIME OUT
Saint Francis returns to action against the Mountaineers on Friday. Game time is 7 p.m. It will be the first meeting against the Mount since it left for the MAAC last season and will mark the first non-conference regular season meeting between the two teams in Loretto since 1959-60.