The men’s basketball team fought hard for 40 minutes on Feb. 19 in its home game against first-place LIU.
But the Flash also committed costly mistakes in the game’s final 30 seconds: mistakes that allowed the Sharks to escape the Stokes Center with a 91-89 victory.
“Credit to LIU for making more plays down the stretch,” said Saint Francis head coach Luke McConnell. “We didn’t do a good enough job handling the pressure.”
SFU (6-20) led by two points (89-87) with 35 seconds remaining when disaster struck. After a Red Flash timeout, LIU senior guard Jamal Fuller stole a pass that turned into in free throws for the Sharks’ Jomo Goings, who drew a foul.
Goings made both free throws to tie the game at 89. On the ensuing possession, SFU senior guard Skylar Wicks drove to the rim and miss a contested layup. SFU senior Gestin Liberis then missed a putback opportunity before Goings grabbed his seventh rebound of the game. He was then fouled with only six seconds remaining.
The Washington, D.C. native made both free throws to put the Sharks (18-9) ahead for good, 91-89.
“Everybody looks at the last 30 seconds and the last play, but there were a lot of plays where we gave them extra opportunities,” said McConnell.
The Red Flash turned the ball over 21 times, compared to 12 for the Sharks.
The first 10 minutes of the game featured a lightning-paced, physical back-and-forth battle and LIU led by one (27-26) midway through the first half.
In the last 10 minutes of the first half, the Sharks extended their lead to 10 with two minutes remaining before the intermission. SFU, however, closed the half on a 6-1 run to trim the deficit to five (43-38) after Wicks drilled a 24-foot, buzzer-beating three-pointer just before the horn sounded.
Saint Francis outrebounded the Sharks, 34-29, on the night, but late-game turnovers cost them a chance to spring the upset.
McConnell was very proud of his team’s effort on the boards.
“The first time we played them (at LIU), they had 26 offensive rebounds. This time they only had 11 – that was huge for us.”
The first-year coach said he and his staff made rebounding a point of emphasis in practice leading into this matchup.
SFU shot a season-high 61 percent from beyond the arc, making 11 shots in 18 attempts. In the second half, the team drilled eight of 10 three-point attempts, with Wicks knocking down all three of his shots from long-range after the intermission.
The hot shooting by the Red Flash kept the game close and kept the Stokes Center crowd engaged and energetic.
Wicks finished the game with 25 points and six rebounds. The NEC’s second-leading scorer made four of five shots from three-point range. Sophomore Victor Payne scored a career-high 23 points and senior Chris Moncrief added 11 for SFU.
LIU’s Malachi Davis paced the Sharks with 20 points.
Long Island looks to carry its momentum forward into its next game on Saturday at Mercyhurst.
Saint Francis will look to bounce back in its home finale on Saturday against Wagner. The game against the Seahawks tips off at 2 p.m.
