LORETTO, PA – The St. Francis College Brooklyn men’s basketball team (5-8, 5-7 NEC) fell to Saint Francis (PA) (6-13, 5-10 NEC), 80-66, on Friday afternoon. With the defeat, the Terriers leave Loretto, PA with a spilt of the two-game series after they picked up a win to open up the series on Thursday evening.

The Terriers and Red Flash were locked up in a back-and-forth first half, which saw the hosts take a narrow, 39-38, lead into the halftime break. St. Francis Brooklyn opened the game by scoring four quick points out of the gate that forced Saint Francis (PA) to call a 30-second timeout just 1:25 into the game. From there, the Terriers built an early lead and led by as many as eight points in the early going, 14-6.

Saint Francis (PA) took its first lead of the game at the 11:05 mark in the opening frame after going on a 12-2 run ahead of the under-12 media timeout. Over the final 10 minutes of the first half, the teams traded baskets, and the Red Flash took a one-point lead into halftime. Senior guard Chauncey Hawkins fueled the Terriers’ offense in the first frame as he scored 10 points on a near-perfect 4-of-5 shooting from the floor.

The Red Flash used a 16-4 run that lasted nearly six minutes to pull away in the second half. The game was tied up at 44-44 at the 17:32 mark when the run began and then Saint Francis (PA) went up 60-48 with 11:56 and controlled a 12-point advantage going into the under-12 media timeout in the second half.

From that point forward, the Red Flash maintained their lead as they held off any potential comeback efforts from the Terriers. Saint Francis (PA) went on to outscore St. Francis Brooklyn, 41-28, which propelled the Red Flash to victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 66 | Saint Francis (PA) – 80

• The Terriers had four student-athletes scores in double figures and were led by Hawkins who scored a team-high 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 from three-point range. With his 12 points, he now has 1,146 career points and moved into 18^th-place on the Terriers’ all-time scoring list as he past Brent Jones and Stefan Perunicic. It was the eighth time this season that he scored in double-digits and the sixth game in a row that he has done so.
• Sophomore guard Rob Higgins finished with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field in 30 minutes. It was the 10^th time this season that the guard has tallied 10 or more points in a game.
• Graduate guard/forward Travis Aston recorded 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists in 27 minutes of action. It was the third game in a row that Aston scored in double figures and his fourth such game with at least 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
• Graduate guard Unique McLean totaled 10 points and three rebounds, while junior forward David Muenkat came off the bench to score six points and grab six rebounds in 22 minutes.

UP NEXT:
The Terriers are back in action on Tuesday, February 16, at 7 p.m., and Wednesday, February 17, at 7 p.m., against Fairleigh Dickinson in Hackensack, NJ. Both games will broadcast on NECFrontRow.com.