WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> After playing with Oklahoma for 22 minutes, including grabbing a four-point lead, Saint Francis falls to the Sooners in the men's basketball season opener for both teams on Monday.
>> Skylar Wicks paced the Red Flash with 20 points, while Zion Russell added a career-high 15 points. Both players made their Saint Francis debut in the game.
>> Luke McConnell made his head coaching debut against the Sooners.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
Saint Francis came out of the break to take its first lead of the game when Wicks scored in the lane at 19:27 in the second half. Gestin Liberis extended the lead to four points with 18:35 left with his first career 3-pointer and his first points since the 2022-23 season. 

The lead was short-lived after the Sooners went on a 32-3 run to take the lead it would not relinquish en route to a 102-66 win in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

FLASH MOMENTS 
Trailing 19-11, the Red Flash used an 11-3 run to tie the game at 22. Ralph Martino, Jr. started the run with a 3-pointer at the 13-minute mark before he hit a jumper at 10:51. Wicks drained a jumper of his own at 10:18. After a traditional 3-point play by the Sooners, Chris Moncrief and Zion Russell both scored in the lane to even the score at 22. 

The two teams traded baskets before Oklahoma grabbed a 45-39 lead with 1:16 left in the first half. The Red Flash scored the final five points in the last 52 seconds of the frame on a Cam Tweedy layup and a Moncrief trey with 34 seconds left to trim the margin to 45-44 going into the locker room. 

Saint Francis had a 6-2 run in the second half thanks to layups by Ahmad Harrison, Tweedy, and a jumper by Wicks.

FLASH NUGGETS
Wicks registered his 10th 20-point performance of his career after posting eight with Incarnate Word in 2023-24 and one with UTSA in 2024-25. It was not his first 20-point performance against a Power 5 team after he registered 26 points against Texas on November 6, 2023, which was also his first game with Incarnate Word. He was 9-for-19 from the floor and 2 of 5 from the charity stripe against the Sooners. He stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal on Monday. It was the 22nd time he has corralled five boards in his career.

Zion Russell notched a career-high 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line. His previous career-high was 14 points, which he reached twice, including at Mount St. Mary's on January 5, 2025. It was his 14th double-figure performance of his career. He also hauled in five boards for the 12th in his career. 

Brandon Russell registered his first collegiate points on a layup with 7:09 left in the first half. The freshman finished with six points and two rebounds.

Harrison (two points, two assists), Tweedy (six points, four rebounds), and Martino (seven points, three rebounds) also made their Saint Francis debuts.

Liberis returned to the Red Flash lineup after missing last season due to an injury. He registered three points on his first career 3-pointer. Moncrief, the lone starter from last year's NEC Championship team, posted seven points in his 2025-26 debut.

McConnell became the second head coach to make his head coaching debut against an SEC team after Dave Magarity opened his Frankies coaching career against LSU on November 24, 1975.

It was the 10th time the Red Flash played an SEC team and the first time since 2016-17 at Texas A&M. Saint Francis will also play Florida on December 17. 

The Frankies went into halftime trailing by one point against a Power 5 team for the first time since going into the break 37-36 at Georgetown on November 23, 2024. The Red Flash went into halftime tied with Miami on December 17, 2022, with Nijel Pack as a member of the Hurricanes. Pack transferred to Oklahoma before this season.

NEXT ON TAP
Saint Francis returns to action on Thursday at TCU. Game time is 8 p.m. on TNT. Read Full Article