combined for 20 points in a decisive 25-14 run in the second half. Saint Francis withstood a furious comeback attempt by FDU to earn a 75-71 win in Northeast Conference (NEC) men's basketball action on Sunday.
>> Cranford registered his first nine points, including the go-ahead basket, while Clayville recorded 11 points in the spurt.Â
>> Clayville finished with 13 points and four assists in the same place that his mother, Sue Steele, won two NEC Championships for the Knights women's basketball team in 1990 and 1992.Â
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME
With Saint Francis holding a 71-62 lead with 72 seconds left after a
Daemar Kelly dunk, the Knights scored the next seven points to make it a one-possession game with 15 seconds left. Cranford was fouled and made both free throw attempts with 14 seconds left for a 73-69 lead. After a missed 3-pointer by FDU,
Victor Payne came down with the rebound and sealed the team's first road NEC road win with two charity tosses.
The run powered by the two freshmen started after the Knights tied it at 38 with 14:44 left. Cranford gave the Red Flash the lead for good on a layup at 13:43 before Clayville drained a 3-pointer at 12:27. After a Knights basket, Cranford set up Clayville for another triple at 11:29.
The two teams then traded baskets with a Cranford layup and a
Valentino Pinedo layup in the trade. Pinedo's layup came off a Clayville assist with 10:10 left to maintain the six-point edge. Cranford made 1 of 2 at the free throw, and Clayville scored off the glass for a 53-46 lead at 7:23 on the clock. Clayville hit his third basket from downtown at 6:34, and Cranford had a pull-up jumper at 5:41 for a 58-50 advantage. After three free throws by the Knights, Pinedo started a 5-0 run with a free throw for the only point in the run Clayville or Cranford did not have a hand in because Cranford then scored in the lane and then set up Pinedo for a layup at 3:45 for a 63-52 lead.
FLASH QUOTES
"We had to overcome a lot of adversity throughout the game.  Foul trouble and injuries had us playing combinations we hadn't played together all year. The guys on the floor did a much better job of handling the moment together on both ends of the floor. Winning is hard. Winning on the road is even tougher. In the words of Coach Chris Villarrial, "they found a way." -
head coach Rob Krimmel on the game
FLASH MOMENTS
The first half was a seesaw battle, with the Frankies taking an early 4-0 lead thanks to a layup by Parker and a Kelly jumper with 17:43 left. Trailing 13-10, Parker scored the next five points to give Saint Francis a 15-13 edge with 10:22 left in the first half. The Red Flash would take a two-point lead three more times and a one-point lead twice in the final 10 minutes of the first half.
The Knights took a 32-28 lead with 17:51 left in the game before the Red Flash scored 10 of the next 16 points to take a 38-36 edge. Parker had four points in the spurt thanks to a 3-pointer and converting the free throw after being fouled on the play. Rosenberger hit a triple with 14:59 left to give the Loretto program the two-point edge after the seven unanswered points.
FLASH NUGGETS
Clayville averaged 15.0 points per game over the weekend after joining the starting lineup for the first time on Friday against Mercyhurst. The freshman shot 55.0 percent from the floor (11-for-20), 42.9 percent from behind the arc (42.9), made both free throws and added nine assists in the 2-0 weekend. He has eight 10+ point games this season and registered consecutive 10-point games for the third time. It is the fourth time he has dished out at least four assists in a game.
Cranford averaged 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in the two games and reached 10 points for the first time since he posted seven straight games in double figures in the final seven games of the 2024 calendar year. Cranford has dished out three assists or more four times.
Parker registered double figures in points in both games on the weekend and has scored 10+ points in five straight games, marking the second time he has turned that trick this season. It is the fifth time he has posted at least 18 points in a game and the second time in three tilts.
Pinedo finished with seven points and eight rebounds. Kelly tallied nine points and five rebounds, while Rosenberger posted nine points and six boards. Kelly's nine points are the second most in his career after scoring 10 at Penn State on November 12.
Saint Francis won back-to-back games for the first time since defeating Lehigh 62-61 on November 29, 2023, and American 75-73 on December 2, 2023. The FDU win was the second on the road after defeating Campbell 65-64 on November 10. The Frankies defeated the Knights by four points, the total of the previous three road wins combined. It also ended a three-game losing streak at FDU.
After not winning an NEC game on the road in 2023-24, the Red Flash earned its first league win away from Loretto since defeating LIU in Brooklyn on February 18, 2023. That same weekend, the team defeated St. Francis Brooklyn two days earlier for the team's last two-game NEC winning streak.
This season marks the 70th Anniversary of the 1954-55 Frankies team that advanced to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals led by Maurice Stokes. Wednesday was the 70th Anniversary of the program's first-ever win against a ranked opponent with its 82-72 win against No. 2 Duquesne on January 8, 1955. The next game on the 1954-55 schedule was the team's first-ever game and trip at FDU on January 12, 1955. Saint Francis won that meeting, and history repeated itself 70 years later.Â
FDU honored its longtime head coach, Tom Green, who leads the NEC with 263 NEC wins, in a halftime ceremony. Saint Francis head coach
Rob Krimmel earned his 102nd league win on Saturday and is the active leader in conference wins.
NEXT ON TAP
Saint Francis returns to action and continues its three-game road trip at LIU on Saturday. Game time is 2 p.m.
