WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Before Saint Francis hit the court on Saturday, it clinched a spot in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament. Before the first media timeout, the Red Flash knew it would travel to Central Connecticut State for a rematch of last year's quarterfinals. 
>> On the court, Saint Francis dropped the regular season finale 74-58 to Le Moyne in NEC men's basketball action on Saturday.
>> Carlos Lopez, Jr. (Egg Harbor, N.J.) paced the Red Flash with 17 points. Bobby Rosenberger III (Quakertown, Pa.) added 11 points and nine rebounds, while Aaron "Ace" Talbert (Wyandanch, N.Y.) chipped in 10 points. 

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
After a 3-pointer by Talbert to start the game, the Dolphins took the lead and never trailed the rest of the way. Le Moyne held a five-point lead at halftime and scored the first eight points of the second half to take a double-digit lead, and the Frankies could only cut it to eight points the rest of the way.

FLASH QUOTES
"We're promised one more at Central Connecticut on Wednesday, and these guys get to experience playoff basketball. We need to correct things pretty quickly as we prepare for a team that won a share of the regular season title. They are experienced, very talented and well coached. I am looking forward to seeing these guys compete in that environment and one more opportunity to play 40 minutes." – head coach Rob Krimmel on the game

"I just told these guys we have their attention because of how we played CCSU last time. They know that we came in there last time and had a chance to win that game at the end. We have proven that we can play with them, but it's going to be our attention to detail the next couple of days in practice that will make the difference." – Krimmel on playing CCSU again after losing 63-62 in the last game in New Britain

"It's March, and anything can happen. You see it all the time, and we can be a prime example of that this season." – Gestin Liberris on playoff basketball

FLASH MOMENTS
Trailing 18-8 with 11:58 left in the first half, Saint Francis went on a 16-7 run to cut it to a 25-24 edge with 7:32 remaining. Lopez powered the run with nine points, including a circus layup and the and one in the run. 

In the second half, the Frankies scored 10 of 14 points to cut the margin to eight points with 6:33 left. Lopez had five of the 10 points in the surge.

FLASH NUGGETS
Lopez notched his 12th double-figure game of the year and eighth in league play. It is the fifth time the freshman has posted at least 15 points in a game this season. In his two games against CCSU this season, he notched 21 points in the meeting in Loretto on January 13 and matched his career high with 22 points in New Britain on February 1.

Coming off his first 10-rebound performance, Rosenberger narrowly missed a double-double for the fourth time this season after finishing with nine rebounds three times with double figures in points and 10 rebounds and seven points against Stonehill on February 24. The freshman has 13 games in double figures in points this season.

For the fourth-straight game, Talbert racked up exactly 10 points and has double figures in five of his last six tilts. The freshman has recorded double figures 12 times in 2023-24. The five rebounds match his career-best he set against Stonehill on February 10 in Loretto.

Gestin Liberis (Havertown, Pa.), who averaged 13.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game on the New England road trip last weekend, tallied eight points and seven rebounds against Le Moyne. Since returning from injury, Liberis has recorded at least eight points in four of the six games and four of his last five.

Le Moyne is in its first year in the NEC, but this marked the seventh meeting in the all-time series. Before playing in Syracuse on January 21, the last time the two teams met was in the 1957-58 season. The Frankies were 2-0 at home and 3-0 in Pennsylvania against the Dolphins before their win on Saturday.

NEXT UP
Saint Francis will make its third-straight NEC Tournament appearance and 10th overall under head coach Rob Krimmel on Wednesday when it travels to top seed CCSU. Game time is 7 p.m. The two teams met in the postseason for the first time last season in Loretto, with the Red Flash coming out victorious, 83-69, on March 1, 2023.