had a career-high 29 points to lead Saint Francis past LIU 74-64 in Northeast Conference (NEC) men's basketball action on Friday night in front of a very special guest. Parker, who hails from Australia, played in front of his father for the first time in the United States and the first time in three years after his father traveled 26 hours to see his son play in front of almost 1,000 fans at DeGol Arena.
has been tasked to play defense on the No. 1 scorer for many teams this season, and on Friday, he held the Sharks leading scorer to four points on a 2-for-21 shooting and 0-for-6 from the field. Kelly was key on both ends of the floor, posting a career-high 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
chipped in 11 points in the victory.
>> LIU came into the night as the 13th team in NEC history to start league play 6-0. The Red Flash became the fifth time to end the streak at six.
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME
Despite leading by 17 points at one point in the first half, Parker broke a 35-all tie with three free throws with three seconds remaining to give the Frankies the lead it would not relinquish. The Sharks cut it to a single point four times in the first four minutes and 28 seconds of the second half. Fueled by eight points by Parker, Saint Francis responded with a 13-1 run after a media timeout, and the Sharks could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way. Â
FLASH QUOTES
"I've got to give the staff a ton of credit; we made a few offensively and defensively adjustments that I thought gave us a huge lift to get off to a great start. I thought our guys responded well after giving up a huge lead coming into the locker room and being able to match punch for punch in the second half and then extend the lead a little bit towards the end. We made the free throws we needed and got the stops we needed."
– head coach Rob Krimmel on the game
"He's taken the challenge to take the other team's best player and make it difficult. You play team defense, but you need someone to embrace that challenge of taking the other team's best player out of it, and he did a great job. Having
Wisler Sanon II back allowed him to catch a breather. I thought that was a huge reason why we were able to keep him in, especially late when we needed to get those stops. To have someone like that from a defensive standpoint, especially in the league, is a luxury to have because they're a lot of outstanding guards."
– Krimmel on Daemar Kelly
"It's just me listening to the coaches' game plan and my teammate's feedback from the previous game. My teammates gave me the information on how to stop him from doing such and such. I can't fully take all the credit. I have to give it to my teammates and coaches credit."
– Kelly on the defensive game plan
"Coming off to two tough losses that made me feel sick in the stomach. I didn't perform last week and feel like I let my team down. I felt confident out there tonight. Coach Krimmel gives me a lot of confidence when I'm playing. He trusts me, and I trust him."
– Riley Parker on his night
"This is the best place to play in the NEC. That marching band is electric, and the crowd when they get into makes it a lot of fun too."
– Parker on the atmosphere
"Man, absolutely everything. Old boy (his father) hasn't seen me play in about three years, so just having him here and just seeing some familiar faces means everything to me."
– Parker on his father being here to watch him play for the first time
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FLASH MOMENTS
The Frankies started the game by scoring the first 10 points. It was the Parker and Pinedo show, with each junior posting five points in the two-minute and 32-second spurt.Â
LIU trimmed the margin to 13-8 with 13:31 left in the opening stanza before the Red Flash responded with a 14-2 run to take its largest lead at 27-12 with 8:38 left in the first half. Five different players scored points in this stretch, with Cranford leading the way with five points, while Parker capped the run with a 3-pointer.
After the Saint Francis run to put the squad up 13 in the final frame, LIU made a run to cut it to 64-57 with 3:13 left, but the Frankies closed the game by scoring 10 of the final 17 points to secure the victory. Kelly had four points, and Parker and Pinedo each collected three points during this stretch.
FLASH NUGGETS
LIU now joins Robert Morris (1982-83), FDU (1996-97), Bryant (2012-13), and the 1990-91 Red Flash team to have its perfect conference recorded ended after six games.
Parker, who played two seasons at Cochise College in Arizona before coming to Loretto, finished the game 9-for-14 shooting from the floor, 4-for-8 from behind the arc, and 7 of 7 from the free throw line. The 29 points are the third-highest point total by an NEC player this season and the most in a conference game. Parker's point total was also the most points a Saint Francis player scored since Josh Cohen registered 32 points against FDU on February 23, 2023. The junior has four 20-point games this season and seven games with 18 points or more, and all of those performances have come in his last 15 tilts. Parker has registered double figures in 12 of his previous 16 games.
Kelly notched his second double-figure game and first since registering 10 points at Penn State on November 12. The eight rebounds were also a personal best after grabbing five boards three times this season, and he dished out four assists for the second time after reaching that mark against Radford on December 1.Â
In the three Red Flash wins in NEC play, Kelly has held the opponent's leading scorer (each rank in the Top-3 in the NEC) to a combined 22.2 percent shooting from the floor (10-for-45) and 0-for-14 from behind the arc for a total of 26 points.
Pinedo narrowly missed his second straight double-double and third of the season by one rebound after finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds. It is the seventh time in the last nine games he has posted double figures in points, the ninth straight game with at least five rebounds, and the fourth time with eight or more rebounds in that stretch.Â
Cranford reached double figures for the 10th time in his last 14 games. It was his fifth time at home, but his first time at home in NEC play.
Bobby Rosenberger III added seven points and six rebounds in the win.
While some might consider this an upset, the win come on the 66th Anniversary of the second-ever upset of a ranked opponent in team history. The Frankies defeated No. 13 Saint Bonaventure on this date in 1959 for the second upset in team history. The first was a win against No. 2 Duquesne on January 8, 1955.Â
It is also the second straight year the Red Flash defeated a top NEC team at home during this week after defeating Sacred Heart 75-71 on January 25, 2023.Â
Saint Francis also celebrated the children's book Stokes: The Brief Career of the NBA's First Black Superstar. The authors, Ty Chapman and John Coy, have been on campus most of the week.
"Anytime you have an opportunity to celebrate one of the greats in a particular program, it makes for a special evening. Over the last several days, we've talked a lot about Maurice Stokes and what he's meant not just to Saint Francis but to basketball and really to the world because of his relationship with Jack Twyman. Maurice responded to a really unfortunate situation where he was on top of the world, and everything was taken away from him. To have someone like Maurice Stokes, whose number is hanging in our gym, and his Hall of Fame jacket hanging as you walk into the lobby, is a great reminder for these guys of the people who came before and wore the Saint Francis uniform. I'm thankful that Ty and John took the time to write the book and to get to know the true story behind Maurice Stokes and Jack Twyman. To be able to talk about a person after 70 years shows the kind of impact he had, not just on the basketball court, but to the people that knew him."
– Krimmel on the night and the authors of the children's book about a Saint Francis legend
NEXT ON TAP
The Red Flash return to action on Sunday when Wagner comes to town to complete a two-game homestand. Game time is 2 p.m. On Monday, the Seahawks defeated the Frankies 70-68 in double overtime.
