WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> CCSU took the lead with 2:22 left in the game, and ended with one of the craziest final minutes of a basketball game with that free throw holding up for 63-62 win against Saint Francis in Northeast Conference (NEC) men's basketball action on Thursday.
>> Carlos Lopez (Egg Harbor, N.J.) paced the Red Flash by tying his career high with 22 points.
>> Wisler Sanon II (Sicklerville, N.J.) also had a career-high with 13 points and eight rebounds.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME

Saint Francis took a one-point lead at 58-57 on a Sanon 3-pointer with 4:24 on the clock and again after Sanon made two free throws at 3:10 for a 60-59 edge. After the Blue Devils scored three-straight points to take a 62-60 edge with 2:58 on the clock, Bobby Rosenberger III (Quakertown, Pa.) tied the game on a layup with 2:37 remaining. CCSU then made the back end of two free throws with 2:22 left for a 63-62 lead.

Each team missed a pair of shots, and the other team grabbed the defensive rebound. A Red Flash turnover and another miss by the Blue Devils saw Miles Webb (Arlington, Va.) defensive rebound with seven seconds left, but a turnover in the waning seconds ended game with CCSU surviving.

FLASH QUOTES
"That's the hardest we have played all year. And sometimes, when you play hard, there are no guarantees you win a game. We played hard enough and well enough to win that game tonight. Believe is a big word in our program, and I believe in these guys." – head coach Rob Krimmel

FLASH MOMENTS
The game did not seem like it would go down to the wire after CCSU jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first half.
 
The Red Flash ended the first half and started the second frame with 11 unanswered points to trim a 36-22 deficit to a 36-33 margin with 17:52 left in the game. Lopez powered the run with eight of the 11 points.
 
CCSU restored a 10-point lead at 50-40 with 11:27 on the clock before the Frankies went on an 18-7 run to take a 58-57 lead on Sanon's triple with 4:24 on the clock. During the final seven minutes of the game, Sanon registered 10 of his career-high 13 points.

FLASH NUGGETS
Lopez notched his third 20-point game of the season and became the first Red Flash player to turn the trick on the road this season. The freshman, who has all three of his 20-point games in the last 10 games, also had 21 points against the Blue Devils in the January 13 meeting in Loretto. Lopez has eight 10+ point games this season.

Sanon recorded his second career double-figure point game and first against a Division I opponent. The sophomore had 11 points against Saint Vincent on December 8, 2023. His eight boards bested his previous high of six boards at Penn State on November 14.

Eli Wilborn (Middletown, Conn.), who grew up right down the road from Central Connecticut State in Middletown, finished the game with nine points and four rebounds.

Head coach Rob Krimmel is searching for his 100th NEC regular season win and will have to wait another day. The 12th-year head coach registered his first win as a head coach against CCSU on January 3, 2013.
 

NEXT UP
Saint Francis wraps up its two-game road trip at LIU on Saturday. Game time is 7 p.m. The contest will air on ESPN+, NEC Front Row and SportsNet Pittsburgh.