Men's Basketball | 7/14/2025 10:00:00 AM

LORETTO, Pa. – Former Saint Francis men's basketball standouts Keith Braxton and Josh Cohen will suit up for Sideline Cancer in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) starting on Saturday in the Louisville Region.

Sideline Cancer will open the tournament as the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 Madd Katts, the winner of the HBCU Welcome Home Tournament, on Saturday at Freedom Hall in Louisville at 2:30 p.m. With a win in the first round, Sideline Cancer would face the winner of top seed The Ville (Louisville Alumni) and eighth seed Boston vs. Cancer on July 20 at 7 p.m. on FS1. The Louisville Regional Final is July 23 at 9 p.m. on FS1. All games in the TBT Tournament will also be streamed, HERE.

Braxton will be making his fifth appearance in the TBT and third consecutive trip with Sideline Cancer. Braxton played with WoCo Showtime in 2021 and 2022 before joining Sideline Cancer. Cohen will be playing in his first TBT Tournament. The duo were teammates for the 2019-20 Red Flash season, but this will be the first time the two could share the court in a game after Cohen redshirted his first year with Saint Francis.

Sideline Cancer's namesake comes from the Griffith Family Foundation's Sideline Cancer fundraiser. Friends, family, and community established the Foundation as a gift to Hollidaysburg, Pa., natives Greg and Cathy Griffith during Greg's heroic 19-month battle with Pancreatic Cancer in 2010 and 2011.

Braxton helped Sideline Cancer to the second round in the 2024 TBT, averaging 11.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in the two games.  In the 2023 TBT, Braxton helped Sideline Cancer to the Sweet 16. He averaged 8.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in the three games. With WoCo Showtime in 2021 and 2022, the team lost in the opening round both times, but Braxton had a great game in his first tournament action in 2021 with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Braxton finished his illustrious collegiate career with Saint Francis in the 2019-20 season with 2,067 points and 1,151 rebounds to become only the second player in program history and the first since NBA Hall of Famer Maurice Stokes. He also finished third in team history in career assists (454) and steals (194). Braxton helped the Red Flash to one of its most prosperous four-year stretches in program history with a 75-55 overall mark, 48-24 in Northeast Conference (NEC) play, three NEC Championship Game appearances, two CIT appearances, and an NIT berth.

Cohen ended his time in Loretto after the 2022-23 season and became the 43rd player in program history to reach 1,000 points, the 29th player with 500 rebounds, and the 20th player with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. He finished his Saint Francis career with 1,132 points and 533 rebounds. In his final season in a Red Flash uniform, Cohen became the second player in team history to register two 40-point games in his career after scoring 40 points against Lehigh on November 21, 2022, and 40 points at Hawai'i on December 11, 2022. Stokes is the only other player to register multiple 40-point games in his career. 

Braxton and Cohen are two of the four players in Saint Francis history to be named NEC Player of the Year. Braxton was named the NEC Player of the Year in 2018-19, and Cohen earned NEC Co-Player of the Year in 2022-23. Isaiah Blackmon (2019-20) and Mike Iuzzolino (1990-91) are the only other players to earn NEC top honors. Iuzzolino was also the last player to have a 40-point game before Cohen.

Braxton Professional Career
Braxton played professionally overseas in 2024-25 for the VfL SparkassenStars Bochum in German ProA, averaging 19.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. He scored 20 points in a game 21 times in 2024-25 with a season-high 33 points against Crailsheim on November 16.

Braxton played for Jamtland in Sweden in 2023-24 after initially signing with Ironi Nahariya in the Israeli National League. The league was cancelled due to the current situation in the country. Braxton averaged 11.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in 24 games for Jamtland. He posted 17 games in double figures in points, four double-digit rebound performances, and four double-doubles. He notched a season-high 21 points on two occasions and a season-best 14 rebounds once.

Braxton was named the Belfius Mons-Hainaut Most Valuable Player for the 2022-23 season after averaging 12.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game in Belgium. He registered double figures in 25 games, including five of the six playoff games, and added five 10+ rebound games and five double-doubles on his way to MVP honors. Braxton registered two 20-point performances on the season with a 25-point effort against Yoast United on March 29, 2023, and a 20-point, 11-rebound output in the regular season finale against Zeeuw & Zeeuw Feyenoord on April 28, 2023.

The New Jersey native made his professional debut in 2021-22 as a member of the Maccabi Ma'ale Adumim team in Israel's second league. He averaged 18.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. Braxton scored 20 points seven times, including a career-high 37 against Maccabi Haifa on January 29, 2022.