Flash stumble in NEC opener, fall at home

College

Related Photos

St. Francis’ Sorena Orandi (left) drives to the hoop for a bucket against Long Island’s Julian Boyd on Thursday night in Loretto. Dave Lloyd

Discussion

December 5, 2008

By MIKE MASTOVICH The Tribune-Democrat Fri Dec 05, 2008, 09:04 AM EST

LORETTO — With two consecutive road wins and victories in three of the past four games, the St. Francis University men’s basketball team brought high expectations into Thursday’s Northeast Conference opener.

But Long Island University departed DeGol Arena with a 73-58 win and, as coach St. Francis coach Don Friday put it, more than a figurative handful of the Red Flash’s candy.

“They took our candy,” Friday said after his team fell to 3-5 overall, 0-1 in the conference. “You know on Halloween, the guy that you don’t want to steal your bag? Well, they got 15 bags tonight.”

Long Island’s inside game was too much for St. Francis. The Blackbirds (2-3, 1-0 NEC) outrebounded the Flash, 40-29, with 15 offensive boards and a 26-8 advantage in second-chance points.

“We came in very, very hungry,” LIU coach Jim Ferry said, perhaps inadvertently falling in line with the “candy” theme.

“We are a very good offensive rebounding team,” he added. “We were smaller than them, but I think we had a little bit more quickness than them. We chased the ball.”

St. Francis held an early five-point advantage, but the Blackbirds had runs of 7-0 and 8-0 to lead by 12 late in the first half. A 14-0 run early in the second half put the game out of reach.

“I’m thoroughly disappointed with the way we played defensively, specifically on the glass as it pertained to offensive rebounds for Long Island,” Friday said. “They drove the basket. They attacked the glass. They won this battle.”

LIU’s Kyle Johnson had 17 points to lead four Blackbirds in double digit scoring. Ron Manigault had 12 rebounds.

Devin Sweetney paced St. Francis with 13 points, followed by Marquis Ford (12) and Mislav Jukic (10).

Friday said the Flash will move on. He pointed to wins at Morgan State (65-61) and Youngstown State (66-65), and a home victory over Bucknell (69-59 OT) as signs of progress.

Ford agreed.

“No disrespect to (former) coach (Bobby) Jones, but with the new coach came a new philosophy and a new attitude,” Ford said of Friday. “He brought it. We accepted it. Some of the stuff is hard to pick up, but we’re trying our hardest. We’re picking up everything fast.

“Everybody comes to practice energized and ready. We’re coming to compete. We had a two-game winning streak on the road. We realize we are capable of winning. The guys are ready to build and make a foundation for something real big.”

The Flash will turn their attention to St. Francis (N.Y.) for a noon home game Saturday.

“We’ve got to learn from this, focus and come out at practice and get better,” Jukic said. “We’ve got to get ready for St. Francis (N.Y.). We’ve got to be thinking about winning the next game. We can’t worry about losing. We lost this one. We’ve got to close this book, open a new page and move on.”

Text Only | Photo Reprints

College

College basketball in brief
A closer look at Thursday night's men's and women's college basketball games:

February 9, 2012
Penn State men absorb fifth straight loss
Penn State refused to be routed the first time No. 11 Michigan State had a chance to pull away for an easy victory.
The Nittany Lions, though, couldn’t stay consistent enough to keep their comeback hopes alive.

February 8, 2012 1 Photo
South Florida rebounds with win over Pitt
South Florida’s Hugh Robertson combined a perfect night offensively with a stellar defensive performance that helped the Bulls rebound from their worst-ever Big East loss.
Robertson had a season-high 18 points and helped USF
(14-10, 7-4) hold Pittsburgh star Ashton Gibbs to a season-low four points in a 63-51 victory over the Panthers on Wednesday night. Augustus Gilchrist added 10 points for the Bulls, who lost by 30 points at Georgetown last weekend.

February 8, 2012 1 Photo
Local sports in brief 2-9-2012
February 8, 2012
Michigan board gives go-ahead on Winter Classic
The University of Michigan Board of Regents on Wednesday authorized athletic director Dave Brandon to seek a contract with the NHL that would allow the league to hold next year’s Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium.

February 8, 2012
Pitt-Johnstown wrestlers dominate Seton Hill
Pat Pecora picked up his NCAA Division II record 498th career victory on Tuesday night, but just like almost every other one, he saw some things that his Pitt-Johnstown wrestling team could improve upon.

February 7, 2012
Happy Valley readies itself for a new brand of football under Bill O’Brien
White placards with a set of rules were affixed to the glass doors of the players’ entrance at the Penn State football building about the time Bill O’Brien agreed to become the school’s next football coach.

February 6, 2012 1 Photo
Panthers win fourth consecutive game
Pittsburgh senior Ashton Gibbs is a happy man now that his backcourt mate, junior Tray Woodall, is back and healthy in the starting lineup. He’s almost as happy as Woodall, who recovered from a groin/abdominal strain to turn in one of his best performances of the season.

February 5, 2012 1 Photo
Panthers looking to extend winning streak
Even as the losses piled up, Pitt’s men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon said his players never abandoned hope. That can be tough in the face of an eight-game losing streak stretching from December into January.

February 4, 2012
Nittany Lions drop 4th in a row
Bryce Cartwright has been in and out of Iowa’s starting lineup all season. Now the senior looks like he’s there to stay.
Cartwright, bothered with concussion-like symptoms earlier this season, scored 17 points to lead the Hawkeyes to a 77-64 victory over Penn State on Saturday.

February 4, 2012
More College Headlines

College

Search Results

Related Photos

Discussion

Flash stumble in NEC opener, fall at home

Do you support Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed state budget for fiscal year 2012-13?

Contact Us