WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Paris Papadatos hit a 3-pointer as time expired to hand Saint Francis a dramatic 85-82 win against FDU in NEC men's basketball action on Sunday.
>> Skylar Wicks paced the Red Flash with 24 points, while Chris Moncrief (14 points) and Ahmad Harrison (12 points) also found double figures in the victory.
>> It was the first dramatic win in the waning seconds of a game since February 6, 2020, at Sacred Heart.
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
Last year, Saint Francis and FDU went to overtime in Loretto, and with 4.7 seconds left, the game seemed destined to head that way again.
Saint Francis had a four-point lead twice in the final 96 seconds, but a missed jumper and a turnover allowed the Knights to come back and tie the game with 4.7 seconds left at the free-throw line.
After a timeout, Harrison inbounded the ball to Cam Tweedy, who gave the ball back to Harrison. As the clock ticks down, Harrison races down the floor and finds a wide-open Papadatos, who released the ball with time remaining in front of the Red Flash bench, and the ball twinkled the twine as time expired to give the Red Flash its first NEC victory, and head coach Luke McConnell his first Division I win as a head coach. Papadatos, a native of Greece, was also playing in front of his family for the first time as a collegiate player.
The last four wins against a Division I opponent have all been by three points, after Saint Francis won each NEC Tournament game by that margin.
FLASH QUOTES
"I love this group. I love those guys who are in that locker room. They are going to fight and play for each other. I am so proud of the effort. They deserved it."
- head coach Luke McConnell on the team
"If anyone remembers the Keith Braxton shot or the Randall Gaskins shot, it was the same exact thing."
- McConnell on the deja vu moment of the game-winner
"I told Ahmad that if he could give me the ball if I was wide open, and he gave me the ball, and I made it, but that is 100 percent Ahmad,"
- Paris Papadatos on the game-winning play
"It's a special moment playing in front of my family again after a year and a half. There couldn't be a better way to finish it."
- Papadatos on playing in front of his family
"We still believe. We may be stuck in the dirt, but we need to step up. Everybody down to the bench stepped up, and we got the dub. We need to keep stacking them every day."
- Chris Moncrief on the team mentality
FLASH MOMENTS
Trailing 72-59 with 6:11 left, the Red Flash used an 11-4 run to take an 80-76 edge with 96 seconds left. Wicks was the catalyst of this run with seven points.
In the first half, with FDU holding a 23-19 lead, the Frankies went on an 11-3 run to grab a 30-25 lead. Four different players scored in this spurt, with
Ralph Martino, Jr. posting four of his six points on the afternoon in this span.
Brandon Russell fueled Saint Francis to a 9-4 spurt with five points to erase a four-point margin and give the Red Flash a 41-40 edge with 2:35 left in the first half.
In the second half, a 12-6 turn for Saint Francis turned a five-point margin into a 56-55 lead in the first three minutes of the second half.
Victor Payne led four scorers with four points to power the run.
Sparked by four points by Moncrief, the Red Flash scored seven of 10 points to tie the game at 67 with 8:51 left.
FLASH NUGGETS
Wicks' 24 points are a season high after he also had that total against Lehigh on November 18. It was his sixth 20-point game this season and 15th of his career. Despite being held to single digits for the first time this season, the redshirt senior averaged 16.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in his first NEC weekend.
Moncrief reached double figures for the first time this season and the ninth time in his career. He shot 4 of 6 from the floor, and 6 for 6 from the free throw line. After being hurt for most of the season showed glimpses of what fueled the team to the NEC Championship last year when the Red Flash went 8-3 when he joined the starting lineup to help facilitate Saint Francis to the NEC Championship for the first time since 1991.
Harrison finished with 12 points and six assists, including the one to Papadotos to call game. The six assists tied a career high, but marked the first time he dished out six helpers against a Division I opponent. The senior has scored double figures in two of his last three contests and is averaging 10.7 points per game in that stretch.
Along with hitting the game-winning shot, Papadatos had nine points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. He has recorded at least nine points four times this season, while his assist and steal totals were personal bests.
The Red Flash scored 80 points in a game for the third time this season, but the first time against a Division I opponent.
McConnell, who had two Division III wins, earned his first Division I win in the first NEC weekend. It marks the second time a Saint Francis head coach earned his first win against an NEC school after Rob Krimmel defeated CCSU on January 3, 2012, in the first NEC weekend that year.
It should be no surprise that Keith Braxton was the one who hit the game-winning shot against Sacred Heart with 1.6 seconds left, the last time the Red Flash won a "buzzer-beater." After all, Braxton has one of the famous buzzer beaters in program history in the NEC Semifinals against Wagner on March 4, 2017.
This year marks the 35th Anniversary of the first NEC Championship. The game was played at DeGol Arena on March 2, 1991, against FDU. Mike Iuzzolino had 32 points, and Joe Anderson had 22 points. Saint Francis announced last week that it would retire both players' jerseys against Mercyhurst on February 14.
The game was seconds away from going to overtime, which would have been on the 71st Anniversary of the first overtime game for the Frankies in program history, who was led by Maurice Stokes. Saint Francis defeated Wayne State 47-44 on this date in 1955.
NEXT ON TAP
Saint Francis returns to action with its first road trip of the season, starting at Wagner on Thursday. Game time is 7 p.m.
NOTE: Headline is a reference to a 1995 movie written by Billy Crystal called Forget Paris.
