Trailing 71-66 with 3:12 left in overtime, the Red Flash closed the game on a 15-5 run to earn its first victory at Le Moyne since 1952.
started the spurt with a layup at 2:53 before Kelly knocked down two charity tosses at 2:31, and Parker drained a triple to give Saint Francis its first lead of overtime at 73-71.
After a Dolphins basket to knot the game at 73, Kelly gave the Red Flash the lead for good on two free throws with 38 seconds left after he registered a steal. Another Le Moyne turnover led to a pair of tosses by Cranford at the line with 18 ticks remaining, and then Moncrief and Cranford made both free throws, which they were awarded in the final 11 seconds to clinch the win.
FLASH MOMENTS
At the end of regulation, the Dolphins took a 66-63 lead with 2:54 left but did not score the rest of regular time. Moncrief made the front end of two free throws with 53 seconds left, and Kelly made both free throws with 15 seconds left to even the game at 66. Le Moyne had a shot at the buzzer that missed and sent the game to OT.
In the first half, the Dolphins jumped out to a 24-17 lead with 9:53 left in the stanza. The Red Flash answered with a 10-0 run to take a 27-24 advantage.
Bobby Rosenberger III had two buckets, while Kelly, Parker, and Moncrief also had two points in the spurt, with Moncrief's basket giving the Frankies a three-point lead with 7:24 on the clock.
Coming out of halftime tied at 38, Saint Francis opened the second half on a 15-4 surge to take its largest lead at 53-42 in the first four minutes and 35 seconds in the second half. Cranford hit two triples in the spurt while Moncrief added one of his own, and Kelly had a pair of buckets.
Le Moyne trimmed the margin to 55-54 with 9:51 remaining before the Frankies answered with a 6-0 run thanks to Parker and Moncrief dialing up long distance for a 61-54 edge with 8:46 left.
FLASH NUGGETS
Moncrief became the sixth player to register 20 points in a game this season and marked the second time a player accomplished the feat for the first time in three games. The junior has registered three double-figure point games since joining the starting lineup in the first meeting with Le Moyne on February 6, which marks the third time he has posted 10+ points on the road of his five performances. The six rebounds were also a career-best, and for the seventh time this season, he grabbed at least five caroms in a game.
Parker finished with 19 points against the Dolphins after scoring 18 points in the meeting in Loretto. It is the seventh time this season he has registered at least 19 points in a game. The four steals were a career-high, while it was the eighth time Parker has grabbed at least five rebounds this season and the 17th time the junior has dished out at least three assists. He will go into the game on Saturday with 99 assists, needing one helper to become the 19th player in program history to have 100 assists in a season and the first since Keith Braxton in 2019-20.
Kelly and Cranford finished the game a combined 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Kelly, who made a career-high six charity tosses, has scored double figures in six consecutive games and seven times in the last eight tilts. During his six-game streak, the junior averaged 13.0 points per game and finished with precisely 14 points thrice. Cranford reached double figures for the 16th time this season and the fifth time in the last eight games.
Rosenberger ended with four points, five rebounds and three steals.
Saint Francis played an overtime game for the second time this season, and both came on the road. It was the first time the Red Flash won an OT game on the road since defeating Bryant 86-82 on December 31, 2017. It was also the first time the squad won an overtime game since rallying from 17 points down against Sacred Heart on ESPNU for a 78-76 win at DeGol Arena on February 9, 2023. It is the eighth time under head coach
Rob Krimmel the team has played multiple overtime games in a single season.
Saint Francis completed its 10th four-game NEC road trip in program history. This was the first time the Red Flash had won at least two games in a four-game league road trip.
