, Saint Francis closed the game on a 10-0 run to defeat Lehigh 88-78 in non-conference men's basketball action on Tuesday.
>> After the Mountain Hawks tied the game at 78, Rosenberger knocked a 3-pointer with 93 seconds left to give the Red Flash the lead for good. After a defensive rebound by Rosenberger, Parker scored in the lane with 60 seconds on the clock. The game became a free throw game, with Saint Francis knocking down 5 of 6 at the line.
>> Fresh off the duo's 20-point performance at Georgetown on Saturday, Parker posted a career-high 23 points, while Rosenberger added 21 points, one off his career best.
recorded a career-high 11 points and made two free throws in the final 28 seconds to help seal the win and hit the new career mark.
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME
The parallels between the last two meetings between Saint Francis and Lehigh are uncanny. The only difference is that in the previous year's battle in Bethlehem, the Red Flash had to rally from a seven-point deficit to earn the win.Â
Last year, Tyler Whitney-Sidney made two free throws with 1:54 left for the final two points for the Mountain Hawks. Tuesday, Cam Gillius tied the game at 1:45 for the final two points for Lehigh.
Last year, the Frankies scored the final eight points to come away with a one-point, 62-61 win. In Loretto in 2024-25, Saint Francis scored the final 10 points to earn an 88-78 win for its third-straight win against the Patriot League.
After Rosenberger's and Parker's clutch shots,
Miles Webb went 1 of 2 at the line with 42 seconds left, Cranford sank two with 28 seconds left, and Rosenberger put the final nail in with two charity tosses with 18 seconds on the clock.
FLASH QUOTES
"End-of-game situations are going to be critical for us. We're going to have to be able to execute down the stretch. But these guys must build confidence and understand how to manage the late game. We had the Campbell game, where we needed to execute some stuff, and we did that. Now we have this game because most games at the Division I level will be more like this when you get to your peer group. You've got to execute the final four minutes. The guys can have confidence that they know what they need to do to win the game the next time they're in that spot." - head coach
Rob Krimmel on the end of the game
"It's great that the coaches can trust me to make that shot. Give credit to Riley for finding me on that play. It was great sharing the ball. I'm just happy we came out on top." –
Bobby Rosenberger III on his go-ahead 3-pointer
"What you see out there is that our togetherness was elite. We're all playing for each other, trying to get good to great shots. We're getting a lot of paint touches and a lot of offensive rebounds, leading to second chances. When you do that, it's pretty hard to beat, especially when we played the defense, like we can." –
Riley Parker on this team
"I'm still learning how to compose a team and how to compose myself. It's a learning journey, game by game, and we're getting better game by game and getting more together game by game. It's just stacking days, stacking games, hopefully, stack some dubs together as well." – Parker on learning with this team
"Our band, cheerleaders, and dance team and the sacrifice they made to stay a little bit longer to support our guys means a lot to me. Those kids could have certainly gone home and begun to celebrate their Thanksgiving break, but the atmosphere that they create is second to none. It's their passion, their energy, their care, and I'm glad our guys had a chance to experience that." – Krimmel shout out to the band
"The band, the cheerleaders, and the dance team do an amazing job. I give all credit to them. They make a they make a great crowd here. They bring energy to us, and it helps boost us. I appreciate them coming out every time." – Rosenberger on the band
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FLASH MOMENTS
It did not look like it would come down to the final two minutes after the first-half display by the Red Flash. Trailing 10-7, Saint Francis went on a 13-0 run to take a 20-10 lead with 13:57 left in the first half. Parker fueled the run with seven points, while Rosenberger's shot at 13:57 gave the Frankies its first double-digit lead.Â
The lead teetered between six and 13 points before Saint Francis closed the half on a 16-7 run to take a 55-36 lead at the break. Parker and
Daemar Kelly each had four points in this stretch to help the Red Flash shoot 60.5 percent (23-for-38) from the floor in the opening stanza.
The game might have had people at DeGol Arena thinking about Robert Morris last year when the Colonials came back from an 18-point deficit to win the game, but thankfully, Saint Francis closed the game with 10 unanswered points to secure its second-straight win against Lehigh and start the Thanksgiving holiday on the right foot.
FLASH NUGGETS
Parker continues to escalate his career performance in the last four games after registering seven points at Mount St. Mary's on November 16, 11 points against Penn State Schuylkill on November 20, 20 points against Georgetown on Saturday, and a career-high 23 points on Tuesday. He is shooting 49.0 percent (25-for-51) from the floor in that stretch and has dished out 17 assists, including seven helpers in his first two games at DeGol Arena.
Rosenberger notched consecutive 20-point games for the first time in his career. It is the third time he has reached the mark at home and missed his career-best by one point against the Mountain Hawks. Rosenberger, who drew up 15 miles from the Lehigh campus, has posted double figures in both games and is averaging 16.0 points per game in two games against the Bethlehem program.
It is the first time since Josh Cohen scored 20 points in three straight games against FDU (February 23, 2023), Wagner (February 25, 2023) and CCSU (March 1, 2023) one player posted consecutive 20-point performances. It is also the first time since February 27, 2020, against Mount St. Mary's and February 29, 2020, against Robert Morris Saint Francis that two players had consecutive 20-point games when Isaiah Blackmon and Keith Braxton turned the trick.
Cranford, who has started the last three games, notches his first career double-figure scoring game after registering nine points in his collegiate debut against Dayton on November 4.Â
Miles Webb posted eight points, four rebounds, and two starts in his first career start in DeGol Arena. The junior started the first four games of the 2023-24 season, but all four contests were on the road.Â
Saint Francis has won three straight against the Patriot League after defeating Lehigh 62-61 on November 29, 2023, and American 75-73 on December 2, 2023. It is the first three-game winning streak against the league since 2019-20 and 2021-22. That was also the last time the Red Flash won back-to-back games against the Mountain Hawks, with the Frankies winning six of the previous nine games against Lehigh.Â
The 88 points were the most scored against a Division I team for Saint Francis since defeating LIU 93-82 on February 18, 2023.
Saint Francis shot 50 percent for the third time this season and in all three wins.Â
NEXT ON TAP
The Red Flash continues its three-game homestand with the first-ever meeting against Radford on Sunday. Game time is 2 p.m.
