WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> There is a lot of resiliency in this Saint Francis men's basketball team, and that was on display on Monday afternoon. A 28-9 run gave the Red Flash a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds left before falling 80-75 to Chicago State in NEC men's basketball action on Monday.
>> Zion Russell fueled the Red Flash, tying his career-high 23 points. Gestin Liberis added a career-best 17 points, while Cam Tweedy registered his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
>> Ahmad Harrison chipped in a season-high 18 points.
>> The contest was rescheduled from January 29 due to Chicago State being unable to play on that date.
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
All three games of this four-game road trip have come down to the wire. Tweedy tied the game against Mercyhurst in the waning seconds of regulation on February 5, and Skylar Wicks capped a 9-2 run to tie the tilt against Le Moyne on February 5. Despite these heroic moments in the last three games, the Red Flash has not come out on top in one of these types of games since Paris Papadatos hit the buzzer-beater against FDU three weeks ago.
Trailing 67-47 with 8:29 on the clock, the Red Flash held the Cougars to go on a 15-6 spurt. Harrison had five points in this portion of the run.
After Chicago State ended its field goal drought with 2:57 left for its only field goal on the final 10:48 of the game, the Frankies scored 11 of the next 12 points to make it a 76-75 margin with 15 seconds left after a Tweedy layup. Harrison had five points, and Russell had a four-point play.
The Cougars made two charity tosses with 10 seconds left, but Harrison's off-balance trey in front of the Red Flash bench hit off the rim, and the Cougars secured the rebound to seal the victory with one second left.
FLASH MOMENTS
Saint Francis went on a 9-2 run to take a 9-5 lead with 15:55 left in the first half. Russell and
Victor Payne each had three points in the surge.
The Red Flash then went on a 9-3 spurt to trim the margin to 31-29 with 3:13 left until the break. Russell started the run with five unanswered points to power the surge.
FLASH NUGGETS
Russell registered his second career 20-point game of his career and his first on the road after a 23-point performance against Mount St. Mary's at DeGol Arena on November 11. The redshirt junior has posted double figures in his last five games and is averaging 16.6 points per game in that stretch. He added five assists to dish out at least five helpers for the fifth time this season. Russell shot 7-for-12 from the floor, 3 of 8 from behind the arc, and 6 of 8 from the free throw line.
Liberis notched 17 points for the first time in his career and surpassed his NEC career high of 14 points, which he had accomplished twice, including against CCSU on January 17. It was the redshirt junior's first 10+ point game since his game against the Blue Devils and fourth of the season. Liberis has had at least nine points in four of his last five games. He registered a new career-high thanks to an offensive rebound and putback to cut the margin to 75-73 with 32 seconds left. Liberis was perfect on the afternoon, going 6-for-6 from the floor and 5 of 5 from the charity stripe.
Tweedy tallied his first career double-double after narrowly missing the feat against Merrimack when he was with FDU in the NEC Championship Game on March 7, 2023, ending with a then-career-high 13 points and nine rebounds against the Warriors. It is the second time this season he has registered double-figures in points after the redshirt senior had a career-high 14 points against TCU on November 6. Tweedy also had a nice day shooting after hitting 4 of 5 shots from the floor and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line.
Harrison added a season-high 18 points after twice finishing with 17 points, including 17 points against CCSU. He has posted double figures in consecutive games for the fourth time this season. Harrison has double figures six times in NEC play and 11 times on the year.
Saint Francis was without Wicks and
Chris Moncrief for the game after the two were suspended due to what occurred at the end of the Le Moyne game on Saturday, but both will be back for the Red Flash's next game.
The Red Flash were riding high after defeating Chicago State 80-61 on January 23. A weather postponement of the game against New Haven on January 25 and the game against Chicago State on January 29, and after that eight-day break, the Frankies have lost their last four contests while the Cougars have won three of their last four.
NEXT ON TAP
Saint Francis wraps up its four-game road trip at FDU on Thursday. Game time is 7 p.m. The Red Flash returns to DeGol Arena on Saturday, February 14, to host Mercyhurst at 2 p.m. Saint Francis will retire the jerseys of Altoona legend Mike Iuzzolino and Joe Anderson in a pregame ceremony at 1:40 p.m.
