WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> It was an old-fashioned tussle between Robert Morris and Saint Francis in men's basketball action on Saturday, but the Colonials came away with a 79-70 win in the non-conference affair.
>> Skylar Wicks paced the Red Flash with 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
>> Zion Russell (15 points), Ahmad Harrison (11 points), and Ralph Martino, Jr. (11 points) also found double figures to have four players reach double figures for the second time this season.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
With Saint Francis holding a 24-14 lead, the Colonials closed the half on a 23-12 run to take a 37-34 lead going into the locker room, a lead it would not relinquish. 

FLASH QUOTES
"I thought our team took a big step today. I loved the way we moved and shared the ball, and I thought our guys had better communication and moved the ball well. Not getting the result hurts, but proud of the effort. We can learn from some good things and take them as we build into conference play." - head coach Luke McConnell on the game

"We have a little break, so the guys will get a chance for their bodies to rest. Then we get back and focus on keeping the things that we are doing well and cutting out the things that are hurting us." - Skylar Wicks on moving onto the league play

FLASH MOMENTS 
Trailing 8-7 with 15:37 left in the first half, the Red Flash went on a 16-5 run to take its largest lead at 22-12 with 9:51 left. Victor Payne powered this surge with five points. 

Early in the second half, Saint Francis scored eight of the next 13 points to trim the margin to 45-44 with 15:24 left. Russell had all eight points in the run. 

The Red Flash also had a 10-5 spurt late in the game to close the gap to 71-65 with 2:42 left, but could get no closer the rest of the way. Wicks registered six points in this run.

FLASH NUGGETS
Wicks just missed his third-straight 20-point performance after posting 22 points against both Temple (December 14) and No. 23 Florida (December 17). It is the second time this season that he has recorded 19 points, and the eighth time he has posted 18 points or more in a game this season. The redshirt junior grabbed eight rebounds in a game for the fifth time this season and the first time since playing at Xavier on December 1. After not having an assist in his last two games, he dished out at least three assists for the seventh time and had two steals for the sixth time.

Russell scored 10+ points for the third straight game for the first time in a Red Flash uniform after turning the trick twice last season with Niagara. He has registered exactly 15 points three times this season to go along with a career-high 22-point performance in his DeGol Arena debut against Mount St. Mary's on November 11. 

Harrison registered his fourth 10+ point game this season and his first since he had 12 points against Franciscan on November 29. Martino reached double figures for the second time in his career, and the first time against a Division I opponent, after scoring 12 points against Penn State Shenango on December 3. He is averaging 9.0 points per game in his last two contests.  

Saint Francis hit 11 3's this season, the second time this season the Frankies have hit double-figure trey in a game and give away a free Big Mac through the McDonald's promotion. 

It was the fifth time the two teams had met in non-conference action since meeting in the NEC Championship Game in 2020 after Robert Morris left for the Horizon League. 
 

NEXT ON TAP
Saint Francis now will have a 13-day break for Christmas and New Year's before it starts the defense of its NEC Tournament title against Le Moyne at home on Friday, January 2. Game time is 7 p.m. Read Full Article