shot at the buzzer hit off the top of the rim and out to give Wagner a 68-66 win at Saint Francis on Sunday.
paced the Red Flash with 15 points, six assists, three steals and two rebounds. Cranford finished with 14 points and six rebounds, while
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME
The Seahawks took the lead for good on a 3-pointer from the corner with 25 seconds left. Parker scored off the glass with 16 seconds remaining, making it a one-point margin at 66-65. Wagner then made both free throws, had the luxury of a foul to give, and used it with 8.5 seconds on the clock. Parker was fouled and made the first of two free throws with two seconds left to cut the margin to 68-66. Parker intentionally missed the second free throw, and Cranford came up with the rebound, but his shot just hit off the front of the rim as time expired.
Wagner closed the game on a 24-3 run to earn the comeback victory.Â
FLASH QUOTES
"We played really good basketball and then got away from what got us to that point: too many turnovers and too many quick shots, and that extended the number of possessions they had to get back in the game. It's a tough pill to swallow. If you go back to the seven or six-minute mark and look at some of the things we did, you know, one or two possessions matter because you look at the end of the game and look at a two-point game. We have to take care of the ball, got to get a great shot, and you got to prevent them from getting second chance opportunities."
– head coach Rob Krimmel on the game
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FLASH MOMENTS
With the game tied at 19, Saint Francis closed the first half on a 15-6 spurt to enter the locker room with a 34-25 advantage. Parker had six points in this spurt, including a non-traditional 4-point play after draining a trey and making the free throw with two seconds left in the frame.
The Red Flash then extended its lead to 63-44 with 7:45 left, thanks to a 22-12 run.
Daemar Kelly had five points, and Parker and
Valentino Pinedo each had four points in the spurt.
FLASH NUGGETS
Parker averaged 22.0 points and 4.0 assists per game in the two games this week after posting a career-high 29 points in a 74-64 win against LIU on Friday. He shot 50.0 percent from the floor (14-for-28), 38.5 percent (5-for-13), and 91.7 percent (11-for-12) from the charity stripe, but that one miss was also intentionally trying to give the Frankies one more chance at tying the game.
Parker has now scored double figures 13 times in his last 17 contests and has registered at least 15 points nine times in that stretch, including hitting that mark in each of the last three tilts. He is averaging 21.0 points per game in his previous three games. It was also the fifth time the junior had registered six or more assists in a contest.
Cranford also had double figures in both games this weekend, while the 14 points he scored on Sunday were an NEC career high and the second most he registered at home. He averaged 12.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in the two games. The freshman has 10+ points in four of his last five games and 11 of his last 15 contests.Â
Pinedo has posted double figures in his last three contests and eight of his last 10 tilts. He is averaging 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in his last three games.
Bobby Rosenberger III registered four points to surpass the 500-point mark. He is the first player since Ronell Giles, Jr., who reached the mark on March 4, 2023, with two points against FDU. There were four 500-point scorers on that team. Along with Giles, Josh Cohen, Maxwell Land, and Myles Thompson also posted at least 500 points in their career. Cohen is also the last player in program history to reach 1,000 points.
The NEC schedule now moves back to the traditional Thursday-Saturday schedule. The Red Flash finished 2-1 on Fridays, 1-2 on Sundays, and 0-1 on Mondays. The Red Flash will be glad to stop playing on Sundays after losing twice despite holding a 14-point lead against Stonehill on January 5 and a 19-point advantage against Wagner.Â
Kelly and Jeremy Clayville each added nine points.
NEXT ON TAP
Saint Francis returns to action at Mercyhurst on Thursday. Game time is 7 p.m.
