The Terriers got off to a fast start as they began the game on a 6-0 run, which forced Bryant to call an early timeout. Following the timeout, Bryant went on a 20-4 scoring run of its own and took a 20-10 advantage in the contest. From there, the Bulldogs built a lead which grew to as many as 15 points at the 2:46 mark in the opening frame.
St. Francis responded by outscoring Bryant over the final 2:46 of the first, 12-2, as it cut a 15-point deficit to five points at the half. The Bulldogs took a 46-41 lead into the halftime break as it was paced by Michael Green III (14 points) and Adam Grant (10 points).
The Terriers had the duo of graduate guard Unique McLean and freshman guard Rob Higgins score 12 points apiece over the first 20 minutes of play. McLean was nearly perfect from the floor in the first half as he shot 5-of-6 and 2-of-3 from three-point range.
The second half proved to mirror the first as it featured several scoring runs by both sides with Bryant ultimately coming out victorious in the end. St. Francis did not go away easily as it led by as many as three points down the stretch of the game. The Terriers outscored Bryant, 12-2, over a near five-minute stretch to get the game all tied up at 61-61.
St. Francis continued its push, as senior forward Christian Rohlehr converted back-to-back baskets to put the Terriers up by three with 5:41 to play. The Terriers grew their lead to three twice more before Bryant closed the game out on a 16-5 run over the final 4:25. Junior guard Chauncey Hawkins was the Terriers' driving force as he poured in 22 of his 27 points in the second half of play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 74 | Bryant – 82
- Hawkins scored a career-high tying 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field and went 4-of-10 from three. The guard scored 22 of his points in the second half on 7-of-14 shooting. It was the sixth time this season that the guard scored 20 or more points in a game and tied the single-game scoring-high for a Terrier this season as Deniz Celen also scored 27 points in a win over Delaware State on December 22.
- McLean continued his strong play with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and five rebounds in 39 minutes. The guard scored in double figures for the sixth game in a row.
- Freshman guard Rob Higgins totaled 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting and grabbed three rebounds. Higgins has scored 10-plus points in each of his last four games and has done so 18 times this season.
- Senior forward Christian Rohlehr finished with eight points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds, and blocked a career-high six shots in 18 minutes off the bench. Rohlehr is the first Terrier to block six or more shots in a game since Amdy Fall did so on February 27, 2016.
- Freshman guard Trey Quartlebaum came off the bench to tally five points in seven minutes.
The Terriers are back in action on Sunday, February 23, when they host local rival Wagner at 4 p.m. The men's basketball program is set to celebrate senior day as it will honor Deniz Celen, Milija Cosic, Rosel Hurley, Joshua Nurse, and Christian Rohlehr prior to the game. It will be the 99th time in history that the teams are set to go head-to-head. The Seahawks lead the all-time series (51-47), but the Terriers have won four out of the last five meetings and have won three-straight dating back to last season. St. Francis defeated Wagner in the first matchup this season on January 18, 69-64, behind 20 points from Chauncey Hawkins and a double-double performance from Unique McLean (18 points & 12 rebounds). Last season, the Terriers picked up a two-game sweep over Wagner. The Terriers are 11-7 against the Seahawks under Coach Braica.