LITTLE ROCK, AR – The St. Francis College Brooklyn men's basketball team (2-4) fell to Little Rock (4-3) in its final game of the Barclays Center Classic on Tuesday evening in Little Rock, AR. The matchup marked the first time in history that the Terriers went head-to-head with the Trojans and just the fourth game St. Francis has played against a current Sun Belt Conference member.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 56 | Little Rock – 67
- The Terriers jumped out to an early lead in the contest as they led 6-3 at the game's first media timeout following a steal and a fast break dunk by graduate guard Unique McLean. Little Rock responded following the initial media timeout and went out in front for the remainder of the first half. St. Francis closed the opening half on an 8-0 run that accounted for the final 3:20 of the frame. After the first half of play, the Trojans led 36-27.
- St. Francis and Little Rock traded baskets in the second half, but the Trojans ultimately came out on top as it outscored the Terriers, 31-29, in the final frame. St. Francis continued to fight throughout the second half as it cut Little Rock's lead to seven with 7:10 remaining in the game. The Trojans came away victorious as it outscored the Terriers, 15-11, over the final 6:27 of the game.
- McLean led St. Francis with a team-high 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and grabbed a team-high tying seven rebounds in 31 minutes of play. He also jammed home a pair of dunks. The first came off a steal in the opening minutes as he took the ball coast-to-coast and threw it down with his righthand. The second came with 7:10 to play in the game as he jammed home a putback off a missed shot. The 13 points tied his season-high as he has now scored 13 points in a game three times this season. McLean has pulled down seven or more rebounds in four out of the first six games.
- Freshman guard Rob Higgins came off the bench to score 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor and converted 2-of-5 from three-point range. The freshman has scored in double-digits in each of the Terriers last four games.
- Junior guard Chauncey Hawkins scored 11 points and grabbed three rebounds in 28 minutes of play. The guard has scored 10 or more points in every game this season.
- Senior forward Deniz Celen added six points and recorded a team-high tying seven rebounds in 22 minutes, while senior guard Rosel Hurley chipped in six points and three rebounds over 17 minutes.
UP NEXT:
St. Francis is back in action on Saturday, November 30, when it travels to Jersey City, NJ to face Tristate area foe Saint Peter's at 1 p.m. The Terriers and Peacocks will go head-to-head for the 62nd time in history. The meeting marks the fifth year in a row that the teams will play each other. The Peacocks hold a 34-27 advantage in the series as St. Francis picked up a 56-53 home win over Saint Peter's in their last meeting on December 15, 2018.
