LORETTO —
Grabbing early leads helps a young team like St. Francis to gain confidence. Those early leads, however, have been hard to come by for the Red Flash, who rarely play with the lead.
It happened again to St. Francis Saturday afternoon against Bryant. The Bulldogs took control of the game in the middle of the first half and ran off with a 78-58 victory at DeGol Arena.
St. Francis’ Earl Brown made a layup to narrow Bryant’s advantage to 10-8 before the Bulldogs went on a 12-0 run led by Joe O’Shea’s five points to go up, 22-8. Bryant outscored St. Francis 18-10 the rest of the half for a 40-18 halftime lead. Bryant forward Alex Francis scored 12 of his game-high 21 points in the first half.
The first half proved to be the difference in the game as St. Francis had as many field goals as turnovers (eight) in the first 20 minutes.
“We didn’t have a flow to our offense in the first half,” St. Francis coach Rob Krimmel said. “I didn’t like our energy level to come out. We got to grow as a team. I thought we took a step back in terms of getting certain guys shots. We had a stretch there where we turned the ball over and gave them some easy opportunities going the other way. Give them credit, they’re talented, they’re well-coached and they did what they do best.”
Bryant is 9-4 overall, 2-0 in the conference with road wins at Boston College, Lehigh, and NEC perennial power Robert Morris.
“The real importance is winning on the road,” Bryant coach Tim O’Shea said after his team won its fifth road game. “The conference championship is usually determined by the team that can win on the road. Obviously, we feel really good about our first weekend, picking up two road wins at places that are traditionally in this conference very difficult places to get wins.”
After finishing 2-28 last year, Bryant is poised for a great turnaround season.
“We lost to Robert Morris by 53 points two years ago,” O’Shea said. “It’s pretty substantial, pretty dramatic as any turnaround in the whole country in terms of what we’ve done year over year.”
Bryant had four players in double figures, led by Francis’ 21, Dyami Starks with 18, Frankie Dobbs with 11, and O’Shea with 10. Bryant finished with 17 assists on 27 field goals.
St. Francis (1-12, 1-1) outscored Bryant 40-38 in the second half in an up-and-down half. Brown posted his third-consecutive double-double, finishing with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Umar Shannon had a game-high 13 points and five assists and freshman Stephon Mosley had 10 points and made all foue of his field-goal attempts, but foul trouble limited him to 23 minutes.
Brown has added an inside threat to the offensive attack and on the glass as he collected 15 of the Red Flash’s 31 rebounds).
“Earl was a kid early in the year that we had high expectations for,” Krimmel said. “He struggled early, kind of trying to find his niche with this team and then he gets the concussion just as he is starting to break out into the Earl Brown we’re seeing right now. He’s a guy that plays with a passion, that plays with energy, and that has a toughness about him.”
College
St. Francis stumbles early, loses another
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MIKE MASTOVICH | Roberts, Kent State up to old tricks
George Roberts and his Kent State University teammates reached a familiar destination on Saturday afternoon, but took a somewhat different route in winning their third consecutive Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular-season title.
- Local sports in brief 5/19/2013
- Local sports in brief 5/18/2013
- Local sports in brief 5/17/2013
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College players dominate Point nominations
Pitt-Johnstown junior Jake Warner was perfect and extremely productive at the plate while earning the first two monthly nominations for the 2013 Point Stadium Award in February and March.
Mount Aloysius sophomore Derrick Capiak nearly reached perfection to take the April nomination. -
Penn State guard leaving for pro career
Penn State guard Jermaine Marshall, the team’s second-leading scorer, is foregoing his senior year of eligibility to pursue a professional career overseas.
The team announced the surprise move in a statement Wednesday. The 6-foot-4 Marshall, who is on schedule to graduate this summer, cited his family including a 1-year-old son, in making his decision. -
Penn State coach blasts Sports Illustrated article
Penn State coach Bill O’Brien is fervently disputing suggestions raised in a report that player medical care has been compromised after the team doctor was replaced.
Speaking often in an angry tone that might be otherwise reserved for an argument with an official, O’Brien told reporters in a conference call that the health and safety of his players were his top priorities. -
East Stroudsburg wins PSAC championship
Senior Brian Ernst threw eight innings without allowing an earned run on just two days rest and East Stroudsburg University used a five-run fifth inning to secure its first PSAC baseball championship since 1971 with a 7-1 win over defending champion West Chester on Saturday at Point Stadium.
The Warriors (33-16), who set a school record with their 33rd win, earned the PSAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament thanks in large part to an outstanding effort by Ernst, who was named the PSAC Tournament MVP. -
Millersville players help couple resuscitate ailing child
The Millersville University baseball team came up with a great save this week, but it had nothing to do with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament being played at Point Stadium.
A trip for an after-midnight snack on Wednesday morning ended with seven Marauders being hailed as heroes by a local family after they helped save a little boy who wasn’t breathing. -
PSAC baseball prefers Point Stadium
The 2014 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference baseball tournament is slated for Pullman Park in Butler.
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