WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The St. Francis Brooklyn men's basketball team picked up its first road victory of the season on Saturday evening, as the Terriers clinched their second win of the season over the University of Hartford Hawks.
Rob Higgins exploded for 20 points at the Chase Family Arena; just the fifth time he has reached that point in his career.
The Terriers cemented their offense early, reeling off a 6-0 run and eventually taking a 9-3 lead off Larry Moreno's first three pointer of the day.
Nuha Sagnia helped extend the St. Francis lead in the first seven minutes with a towering block on Hartford's Braxton Jones that Rob Higgins converted to a three-point play at the other end
SFBK shook off a cold shooting streak in the middle stretch of the first half to hit a quick 8-0 run and extend its lead to 23-16.
The two familiar foes played a nearly identical first half statistically; offense at a premium for both sides. Tedrick Wilcox Jr. first basket of the day in the final two minutes of the half would be enough to send the Terriers to the locker room with a 25-24 advantage.
Hartford took its first lead of the contest with the first bucket of the second half but Rob Higgins was quick to restore the Terrier advantage with a three pointer at the other end.
Both teams swapped baskets through the first ten minutes of the second half, but a 5-0 run gave the Terriers their biggest lead of the second half, 50-45, with 7:41 to play.
Higgins extended the lead out to eight points with his second triple of the day as the game rolled into its final six minutes. Hartford cut back into the SFBK lead with a pair of baskets as the visitors went three minutes without a field goal, but a no-look kick from Wilcox to Roy Clarke in the corner led to driving bucket that broke the skid and restored a six-point advantage.
St. Francis held Hartford scoreless for the final 2:40 seconds of regulation; capped off by a Higgins three in the final 15 seconds to secure a 67-51 win.
TEAM LEADERS
Rob Higgins eclipsed the 20-point mark for just the fifth time in his Terrier career on Saturday evening; shooting 6-11 from the field and hitting three of his fifth three point attempts. He is three points away from 1,000 for his career.
Josiah Harris logged his second-straight double-digit outing; contributing 11 points and seven rebounds, including his first three pointer of the season.
Larry Moreno added ten points and a team-high three assists.
NEXT UP: The Terriers return to Brooklyn for the penultimate non-conference home contest; as St. Francis welcomes Medgar Evers to The ARC. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and will air live on NEC Front Row.