“We didn’t play very well in the first half, so I challenged them at halftime to execute and do what we do,” said Red Flash head men’s basketball coach Rob Krimmel.
The challenge worked as SFU outscored Penn State-Schuylkill, 53-34, in the second half in a runaway 96-57 win over the Lions on Wednesday night at the Stokes Center.
Freshman Jeremy Clayville was the star of the night, connecting on six of 10 shots from three-point range. He finished with a career-high 21 points. The first-year player from Ridgewood, New Jersey, also dished out five assists and did not turn the ball over.
Other Red Flash players in double figures in scoring against PSU-Schuylkill included Chris Moncrief (17), Miles Webb (17) and Riley Parker (11).
The team’s leading scorer on the season, sophomore Bobby Rosenberger, chipped in eight points, six rebounds and two assists.
“When we get our backs against the wall, we fight together,” said Rosenberger in reference to the slow start.
SFU led by just nine, 22-13, with eight minutes remaining in the first half against undersized PSU-Schuylkill, which is a branch campus of Penn State located in Pottsville. A lay-up by Rosenberger sparked a 21-10 run to close out the half and from that point on, it was all Saint Francis.
Clayville hit two of his six treys in the run.
Schuylkill’s Isaac Lane led all players with 25 points.
“I am just trying to help us in any way,” said Clayville, who surpassed his previous career-high in scoring in the first home game of his collegiate career. The freshman sharpshooter scored 14 points in the season-opener against Dayton on Nov. 4.
Fellow freshman guard Juan Cranford (4 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds) also turned in an impressive performance in his first game at the Stokes Center. He also did not turn the ball over a single time in 24 minutes of action in his first collegiate start.
“There are some guys that do things in practice that no one sees,” said Krimmel when asked about the opportunity to go deep into his bench.
SFU (2-4) got 62 of its 96 points from non-starters and scored 52 points in the paint. The Flash outrebounded PSU-Schuylkill, 45-24.
Saint Francis will travel to Washington, D.C., to face Georgetown on Saturday at noon. The game will be televised on FS2. It will be the Flash’s sixth road game in seven outings to open the season.
“Our margin for error in a game like that is so slim that we have to minimize mistakes,” said Krimmel about the game against the Hoyas. “They are going to be physical at every position.”
