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BROOKLYN, NY -- For only the second time this season, the Saint Francis men's basketball team won on the road, earning a 72-64 Northeast Conference win over Saint Francis-Brooklyn Thursday afternoon.
Josh Cohen of the Red Flash registered 21 points and 12 rebounds, including scoring his 1,000 point of his career in the first half, but it was freshman Cam Gregory that gave the Red Flash the lead for good en route to a win.
Gregory, who had an NEC career-high 10 points, registered seven points in the decisive second-half run to lift the Red Flash to the win. The freshman gave the team lead it would not relinquish on a driving layup with 11:29 left in the contest.
"I'm pleased with the way these guys came out and executed for 40 minutes. The group that we had in there at the end played with poise and we executed down the stretch," SFU coach Rob Krimmel said. "The margin for error is so slim that we have to eliminate our mistakes. In our last four games we have either had the lead late or within one or two possessions that that is the way these games will be played from here on out. Our guys need to understand the details of what it is going to take to win a basketball game we need to make sure we take care of the basketball and get great shots and on the flip side we need to eliminate second-chance points."
Cohen scored on a layup with 16:54 left in the first half to become the 43 player in program history to score 1,000 points in his career. Maxwell Land added 16 points while Ronell Giles Jr. chipped in 10 points in the winning effort.
After the Terriers tied the game at 48, Saint Francis went on a decisive 15-4 run to take a 63-52 advantage with 5:17 on the clock. Gregory powered the run with seven points while Land had four points in this stretch.
St. Francis Brooklyn (13-14, 6-8 NEC) cut the margin to four points at 63-59 with 3:39 left, but Brad McCabe drained two free throws and Land scored a basket to retake an eight-point lead with 2:13 on the clock. The Red Flash sealed the win by hitting 5 of 6 from the foul line.
Zion Bethea came off the bench to lead SFU Brooklyn with 20 points. Teammate Josiah Harris added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
"We have a quick turnaround at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The goal is to have the focus at practice on Friday to be able to do what we need to do on Saturday. We can't get to 1 o'clock until we do prepare for LIU and have the opportunity to go 2-0 on a road trip," said Krimmel, whose club improved to 10-16 overall and 7-6 in the NEC.
Saint Francis will remain in New York and playing at Long Island University on Saturday at 1 p.m.
ST. FRANCIS (PA.) (10-16): Cohen 7-14 7-11 21, Giles 3-8 2-2 10, McCabe 0-4 3-4 3, Ruggery 1-3 0-0 3, Land 6-12 4-5 16, Gregory 4-6 1-1 10, Hargis 2-2 0-0 5, Sanon 2-3 0-0 4, Liberis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-52 17-23 72.
ST. FRANCIS (NY) (13-14): Grisby 3-8 0-1 6, Harris 6-12 2-3 15, Clarke 4-9 1-3 9, Quartlebaum 2-5 1-2 6, Wilcox 2-13 0-0 6, Bethea 8-12 1-3 20, Howell-South 1-5 0-1 2, Moreno 0-3 0-0 0, Sagnia 0-0 0-0 0, Myrie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-67 5-13 64.
Halftime--St. Francis (NY) 34-32. 3-Point Goals--St. Francis (Pa.) 5-18 (Giles 2-4, Hargis 1-1, Gregory 1-2, Ruggery 1-3, Sanon 0-1, Land 0-3, McCabe 0-4), St. Francis (NY) 7-29 (Bethea 3-7, Wilcox 2-10, Harris 1-3, Quartlebaum 1-4, Clarke 0-1, Howell-South 0-2, Moreno 0-2). Rebounds--St. Francis (Pa.) 32 (Cohen 12), St. Francis (NY) 39 (Harris 11). Assists--St. Francis (Pa.) 12 (Giles 3), St. Francis (NY) 12 (Quartlebaum 3). Total Fouls--St. Francis (Pa.) 15, St. Francis (NY) 17. A--189