WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Saint Francis drops the Northeast Conference (NEC) opener 79-67 to preseason favorite Sacred Heart in men's basketball action on Thursday afternoon.
>> Cam Gregory (Accokeek, Md.) and Aaron "Ace" Talbert (Wyandanch, N.Y.) paced the Red Flash with 14 points each.
>> Eli Wilborn (Middletown, Conn.) returned to his home state for the first time and registered 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
Sacred Heart jumped out to the advantage and never trailed in the game. They grabbed as large as a 24-point lead with 2:55 left in the first half thanks to the Pioneers used 16 first-half turnovers by Saint Francis and turned them into 18 points.
 
The Red Flash cut the margin to seven points in the second half, but could get no closer in the NEC lid-lifter.

FLASH QUOTES
"We dug ourselves too deep of a hole in the first half against a talented and experienced team on their own court by turning the ball over 16 times. We were able to settle down in the second half and executed much more efficiently on both ends." - said head coach Rob Krimmel on the game

"There is a different level of urgency that conference games are played. It's a tough lesson to learn but one they needed to experience for us to continue to grow as a team. I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond on Saturday." - Krimmel on league play

FLASH MOMENTS
After Sacred Heart took its largest lead at 45-22 with 1:15 left in the first half, the Frankies used a 30-14 run to trim the margin to 59-52 with 11:19 left in the final frame. Saint Francis had seven different players score a point during this stretch. Gregory fueled the spurt with eight points, while Bobby Rosenberger III (Quakertown, Pa.) registered seven of his nine points in the game in this run. Carlos Lopez, Jr. (Egg Harbor, N.J.), the current NEC Rookie of the Week, capped the surge with a 3-pointer from the corner.
 
The Pioneers retook a double-figure lead, but with the home team holding a 65-52 lead, Talbert and Wilborn both recorded baskets to cut the margin to 65-57 with 8:19 remaining. Wilborn also trimmed the margin to single digits for the final time on a layup with 54 seconds left.

FLASH NUGGETS
Gregory has now registered double figures in six-straight games for the first time in his career and he has posted at least 14 points in all six tilts. It is the sophomores third-straight 10+ game in league games on the road after posting 10 points at St. Francis Brooklyn on February 16 and 13 points at LIU two days later in his final two road league games in his freshman campaign. The 13 points against the Sharks was also his NEC high before his 14 points on Thursday.
 
Talbert has registered double figures in his last four games and is averaging 13.5 points per game in that stretch. It is also the second time the freshman has posted 10 points on the road among his seven double-figure games this season.
 
Wilborn recorded his fourth double-double of the season and fifth game with at least 10 rebounds in his first league action. The Connecticut native has posted double-doubles in each of his last three road games and is averaging 11.3 points and 11.6 rebounds per game in that span. Wilborn has grabbed at least 10 rebounds in back-to-back games for the second time in his career, while he has registered at least three blocks for the fifth time in his last six games and six times on the year.
 
Rosenberger just missed his third-straight 10+ point game after finishing with nine points against Sacred Heart. The freshman also had a career-high five assists in the game. Lopez finished with seven points, while Aidan Harris (Annapolis, Md.) hauled in eight rebounds for the second-consecutive game.
 
Saint Francis falls to 5-7 in NEC openers under Krimmel, but the Red Flash advanced to the NEC Championship Game in both 2016-17 and 2019-20 after falling in the league's lid-lifter on the road. The 2017-18 team also posted a winning NEC record despite losing the first road game in the circuit.
 
The preseason favorite is now 10-1 in the NEC opener at home dating back to the 1997-98 season. It was the third time the Frankies opened the league slate against the preseason favorite and the second time on the road. Saint Francis opened NEC play on the road for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

NEXT UP
The Red Flash returns to action on Saturday at Wagner. Game time is 1 p.m.