LIU took the lead in the opening minutes, but a 19-8 run after the Red Flash cut the margin to four points in the second half to put the game out of reach.
FLASH MOMENTS
Trailing 39-29 with 16:34 left, the Frankies scored six points to trim the margin to 39-35 with 13:52 on the clock. Cranford drained a 3-pointer, and
Chris Moncrief registered a traditional 3-point game on the spurt.
The run actually started in the first half after trailing 34-19 with 1:57 on the clock in the opening frame.
Valentino Pinedo hit 1 of 2 at the free throw line, and
Jeremy Clayville hit a triple with 22 seconds left to send Saint Francis to the locker room down 34-23.
Riley Parker hit a 3-ball to start the second half,
Daemar Kelly scored in the lane, and
Bobby Rosenberger III hit the front end of two free throws to trim the margin to seven points with 17 minutes left.Â
FLASH NUGGETS
Cranford, who had scored 10+ points in seven straight games in non-conference play, registered back-to-back games in the first two games of the New York-New Jersey road trip. He has reached double figures in points nine times this season.
Parker and Kelly added eight points, while Pinedo finished with six points and six rebounds. Parker had a five-game 10+ point streak halted for the second time this season before he reached six in a row. Pinedo has registered at least five rebounds in his last seven tilts. Kelly has recorded at least eight points in consecutive games for the third time this season.Â
The loss ended a two-game winning streak for the Red Flash.
NEXT ON TAP
Saint Francis returns to action and completes its New York Metropolitan three-game road trip at Wagner on Monday afternoon for the NEC Martin Luther King Day set of contests. Game time is 1 p.m.
