WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> A furious second-half attempt by Saint Francis was halted in the final minute against LIU. The Sharks defeated the Red Flash 67-63 in NEC men's basketball action on Saturday.
>> Skylar Wicks paced Saint Francis with 21 points. Ralph Martino, Jr. notched a career-high 15 points, and Victor Payne chipped in 10 points.
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
After Wicks cut the margin to 64-63 with a run of 15-6, Martino came up with a defensive rebound to give the Red Flash a chance to take the lead.
A missed 3-pointer by Saint Francis, the Sharks made 1 of 2 at the line. The Red Flash then turned the ball over by stepping on the sideline, trying to get the ball up the court, and the Sharks sealed the rematch of last year's NEC Semifinal game at the free-throw line.
Saint Francis had a 41-31 lead with 18:57 left in the game, but the Sharks went on a 27-7 run to take a 10-point lead of their own. The Red Flash clawed back into the game, but could not retake the lead the rest of the way after Ahmad Harrison momentarily retook the lead at 48-47 with 10:25 on the clock. LIU had five offensive rebounds that led to 10 points during the run and outscored the Frankies 25-4 on second-chance points.
FLASH MOMENTS
Wicks powered the 16-7 spurt to cut the margin to one point with 11 points.
With the score tied at 25, Wicks powered a 16-6 run with seven points over the final 4:47 of the first half and the start of the second half to give the Frankies their largest lead at 41-31. Payne had five points, including the 3-ball, to give the Red Flash the 10-point advantage 63 seconds into the final frame.
FLASH NUGGETS
Wicks posted his seventh 20-point game of the season, and the fifth time he has reached 20 points after being held to 15 points or fewer. The redshirt senior shot 7-for-15 from the floor, 4 of 7 from behind the arc, and 3 of 7 from the free throw line against the Sharks. He has posted double figures in 12 of the 14 games he has played.
Martino averaged 12.5 points per game on the weekend after surpassing his career high on Saturday and registering his second-straight 10+ point game for the first time in his career. The sophomore posted 10 points against Wagner on Thursday. He has scored double figures four times in his last nine games. He had a great shooting day, going 6 of 7 from the floor and 3 of 4 from behind the arc.
Payne notched his second 10-point game in league play after scoring 11 points in the NEC opener against Le Moyne on January 2. It is the fourth 10+ point game of his career and his second on the road after his personal-best of 15 points against Troy on November 26.
Harrison finished the game with eight points, three steals, two assists, and two rebounds. The senior had a team-high 16 points against Wagner and has recorded eight or more points in his last five contests. Harrison is averaging 11.2 points per game in that stretch.
Saint Francis is 2-2 after four league games for the 13th time and the first time since 2018-19. The Red Flash did not have as much luck against LIU as Wagner. After improving to 2-1 in NEC play and 7-0 against the Seahawks when entering the contest 1-1, the Frankies faced Wagner in the third game, marking just the third time they faced the Sharks and the fifth time they faced a team from Brooklyn. Saint Francis dropped to 2-2 for the third time when facing a Brooklyn team.
The game was a rematch of last year's NEC Semifinals, a game the Red Flash won 71-68 on three free throws at the end of the game.
NEXT ON TAP
After rematches of last year's NEC Quarterfinals (Wagner) and Semifinals (LIU), Saint Francis will cap its 2025 NEC Tournament run in a rematch of the title game against CCSU one week from now, but this time in Loretto. Game time is 2 p.m.
