HAMPTON, VA – The St. Francis Brooklyn men's basketball team (17-16, 9-9 NEC) put forth a valiant effort but fell to Hampton (16-16, 9-7 Big South), 81-72, in the first round of the 2019 Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) on Thursday night. The first round meeting with Hampton was tabbed as the fourth annual Coach John McLendon Classic.
Tonight's contest marked the Terriers' first-ever CIT appearance and second national postseason appearance under head coach
Glenn Braica. Braica guided St. Francis Brooklyn to an automatic berth in the 2015 National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
Despite the defeat, the Terriers received standout performances from a pair of guards. Freshman
Stevan Krtinic and junior
Rosel Hurley paced St. Francis Brooklyn's offensive attack and provided a jolt for the Terriers as they made a comeback down the stretch.
Krtinic poured in a career-high 19 points, while Hurley registered 18 points which were just two shy of his career-high. The guards combined to shoot 15-of-21 from the floor and converted seven of the Terriers' 11 made three-pointers.
Hampton took the lead at the 18:11 mark in the first half and held on for the duration of the contest. The Terriers and Pirates traded buckets throughout the first half as Hampton went into the halftime break leading, 39-32. Krtinic led the Terriers with nine points in the opening frame and Hurley tallied eight points on a near perfect 4-of-5 shooting.
As a team, the Pirates shot a collective 46.4 percent from the floor and 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from behind the arc in the first half. Hampton received double-digit first half performances from Trevond Barnes and Lysander Bracey. Barnes scored 12 points and Bracey chipped in for 11.
The Pirates extended their lead to 15 points with 11:46 to play in the game. After being down by as many as 15 points, the Terriers did what they do best, fight back. St. Francis Brooklyn went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 59-51 with 8:59 to play.
After the Terriers' run, the Pirates went on a run of their own as they went up by a game-high 16 points with 3:31 remaining. The Terriers had one more comeback effort in them as they went on a 13-1 run that brought them within four points of the Pirates, 76-72, with 1:20 to go in the contest.
Strong defensive play and seven points from Krtinic fueled the Terriers comeback effort. The freshman guard converted back-to-back layups to bring St. Francis Brooklyn within four points.
The Pirates were able to respond as they closed the game on a 5-0 run over the final 1:13 of regulation. Barnes finished the game with 22 points on 6-of-8 shooting and earned the Coach John McLendon Classic MVP.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 72 | Hampton – 81
- Krtinic led the Terriers with a career-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. The freshman also set career-highs in field goals, made threes with five, and tied a career-best with four assists. It was the third time this season that the guard scored in double figures and the first since January 26, against Mount St. Mary's.
- Hurley finished just two points shy of his career-high. The guard poured in 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. Hurley knocked down two three-pointers to tie a career-high. He pulled down two rebounds and recorded two assists in 24 minutes of play.
- Junior forward Deniz Celen scored 11 points and pulled down five rebounds in 24 minutes. It was the 13th time this season that the junior scored in double-digits.
- Graduate guard Glenn Sanabria and senior guard Keon Williams wrapped up their collegiate careers this evening. Sanabria scored five points and dished out five assists, while Williams scored three points and grabbed four rebounds.
- Sanabria finished his career with 1,347 points and ranks 12th on the Terriers' all-time scoring list.
- As a team, the Terriers shot 42.9 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from three-point range. They knocked down 11 threes which marked the eighth time this season that they made 10 or more threes in a game.
