BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. - The St. Francis Brooklyn men's basketball team return to the friendly confines of the Pope Center on New Year's Eve with an eye towards the Terriers' first Northeast Conference (NEC) win of the season.
After a dominant first half, highlighted by a 20 point showing in the first 20 minutes by Tedrick Wilcox Jr., the Terriers held an 11-point lead over Central Connecticut State. The hot shooting for the team did not continue when SFBK returned to the floor for the second half, as the Terriers (3-10, 0-2 NEC) fell to the Blue Devils (4-10, 1-1 NEC), 67-55.
Wilcox led all scorers with a season-high 27 points on 64.7% shooting (50.0% 3PT), adding six rebounds and one block. He played all 40 minutes for the first time as a Terrier.
HOW IT HAPPENED
CCSU took the first lead of the game on a layup in the paint, but SFBK would take its first lead of the game with Tedrick Wilcox Jr.'s first three pointer of the game.
The triple kickstarted an 11-2 run for the home team over the first four minutes, with 8 of the 11 points coming from Wilcox.
Both teams traded baskets as the offenses settled in to the game; the lead changed five different times in the first 12:41. The Blue Devils took their final lead of the game with 7:19 remaining in the first half, and the Terriers responded with an 8-0 over the next three minutes.
The St. Francis lead would extend to as many as 11 in the first half on a Rob Higgins three pointer with 1:03 remaining, and the Terriers took a 37-28 lead to the locker room.
As a team, SFBK shot 48.1% from the field in the first 20 minutes, and 40.0% from three. Wilcox's 20 points in the first half is the most by a Terrier this season.
The pendulum of shooting success swung to the visitors in the second half, as St. Francis went from shooting 48.1% from the field to 34.8%, and CCSU jumped up to a 57.14% field goal shooting performance in the second half.
Jack Hemphill jump started a 7-0 scoring run with 17:22 remaining in the second half that give the Terriers their largest lead of the half, 46-34.
Central Connecticut State would drive back to finish the game on an 20-2 run over the final 7:35 of the second half. Wilcox's jumper in the paint with seven seconds remaining broke a 7:50 scoring drought for the Terriers.
The Blue Devils closed out their first NEC win of the season with a 67-55 lead.
TEAM LEADERS
Tedrick Wilcox Jr. posted the second-best shooting performance of his career on Friday evening, and his best as a member of a Division I program. Wilcox finished with 27 points (11-17 FG, 5-10 3PT) in his first 40 minute outing as a Terrier. He added six rebounds and a block on the defensive end.
Rob Higgins added 15 points (5-11 FG, 2-5 3PT) of his own against CCSU, along with three assists, two rebounds and a steal.
Bahaïde Haïdara led all players with four assists.
NEXT UP: The Terriers continue their three-game conference home stand on Jan. 6 against Saint Francis (PA), with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available through the Terrier Ticket Office and the game will be streamed on the Terrier Sports Network through NEC Front Row.
