LORETTO - In crunch time, with the game on the line, Will Felder and Umar Shannon could take over and lead their high school teams to victory.

This isn't high school anymore. And those two players, along with St. Francis' other talented freshmen, are experiencing the difficulties of the steep learning curve as they collectively make the transition to Division I basketball.

"You can't afford mistakes in crunch time," Felder, who had eight points, said when asked the biggest difference between his prep days and now. "In high school, you maybe could get away with one because the other team might make one."

The Red Flash were all over the place Wednesday night, typical of a freshman-laden team, as they led early, fell apart, rallied, then fell apart again. Lehigh took advantage of SFU's inconsistency and pulled away in the final 10 minutes for a 76-67 win at DeGol Arena.

"Spurts. We're playing in spurts," Flash coach Don Friday said.

One big spurt got St. Francis (1-4) back in the game after it trailed 58-46 with 13:22 to play. The Flash ran off a 14-2 run and pulled even at 60 on Devin Sweetney's 3-pointer with 9:44 to go.

Then St. Francis' inexperience showed up.

The Flash went scoreless for 5:33, and Lehigh (3-2) ran off 10 unanswered points to take control up 70-60.

"You do have to capitalize on the possessions," said Shannon, a point guard who scored 14 points off the bench. "If you don't, you can lose a game."

Shannon is one of the key freshmen who will be counted on to help St. Francis emerge from its disastrous four-year collapse. He had 18 points in a recent game at Notre Dame and came in averaging 10.5 points.

But with the game tied at 60, Shannon made a freshman mistake and had his pocket picked near halfcourt by Lehigh senior Marquis Hall. It resulted in a layup that put the Mountain Hawks on top to stay.

Friday said his youngsters like Shannon and Felder, who had 17 in his college debut against American, may have snuck up on some other teams but won't be able to do that now that opponents have game film to break down.

It will be up to the freshmen to work harder than they ever had to in high school and prove they can make adjustments against a higher-quality of opposition than they've ever faced.

"We certainly can't beat them down [after a loss]," Friday said of the freshmen. "We have to build them up. ... They're young guys, and you can try to explain to them right now 'do this.' They have to do [it], and they have to get reps."

Cedric Latimore, who had 14 points, was whistled for a questionable charge call with the Flash down 62-60. On the next trip down, he drew his fourth foul on a block and came out of the game with 7:01 to play.

In 10 possessions after tying the game, St. Francis was 0-for-6 from the field and committed four turnovers.

Lehigh's C.J. McCollum hit six free throws, and Holden Grenier had a bucket in the 10-0 run that put the visitors in control. McCollum had 20 points, and Grenier lit up the Flash for 18 after having scored only two points in six minutes of action all season.

"Christmas came in November I suppose for him," Lehigh coach Brett Reed said of Grenier. "We were able to give him a call and an opportunity, and he responded."

St. Francis jumped out to a 20-11 lead in the first 10 minutes, only to go cold and see Lehigh surge to a 32-25 edge. The Flash trailed 35-30 at the break, and the Mountain Hawks hit 10 of their first 14 shots in the second half to go up by 12.

St. Francis is off to a 1-4 start and has a trip to Ohio State looming Saturday. Still, Friday believes the young team has a chance to do make big strides.

"We can win here right now," the coach said. "I don't know how many wins it's going to be, but we can win."

LEHIGH (3-2): Carrington 3-7 3-3 9, Knutson 2-7 0-0 4, Hall 1-7 0-1 2, McCollum 4-13 10-10 20, Buchberger 3-5 0-0 8, Adams 0-1 0-0 0, Small 1-1 0-0 2, Keefer 1-3 2-4 5, Greiner 8-10 0-0 18, Shamis 0-0 0-0 0, Ojo 1-2 0-0 2, Maneri 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 27-60 15-18 76.

ST. FRANCIS (1-4): Latimer 6-8 0-0 14, Hoffman 1-3 0-0 2, Sweetney 4-15 2-2 11, C.Johnson 2-5 0-0 5, Ervin 2-4 0-0 5, Orandi 1-3 2-2 5, Fowler 1-2 0-0 3, Shannon 5-10 0-0 14, Peters 0-2 0-0 0, Felder 3-10 1-1 8, R.Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-62 5-5 67.

Halftime-Lehigh 35-30. 3-Point Goals-Lehigh 7-16 (Buchberger 2-3, Greiner 2-4, McCollum 2-5, Keefer 1-1, Ojo 0-1, Hall 0-2), St. Francis 12-23 (Shannon 4-6, Latimer 2-4, Ervin 1-1, C.Johnson 1-1, Fowler 1-1, Orandi 1-2, Sweetney 1-3, Felder 1-5). Fouled Out-Ojo. Rebounds-Lehigh 41 (Maneri 8), St. Francis 30 (Felder, Sweetney 8). Assists-Lehigh 21 (Hall 10), St. Francis 20 (Shannon 4). Total Fouls-Lehigh 13, St. Francis 20. A-714.