BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY – The St. Francis Brooklyn men's basketball team (9-7, 1-2 NEC) was edged by Robert Morris (8-8, 3-0 NEC), 52-49, on Thursday night. The defeat marked the Terriers first of the season on their home court as they are now 5-1 at the Pope Physical Education Center.
The first half saw defense at the forefront as the teams went into the halftime with the Terriers leading, 25-18. St. Francis Brooklyn limited Robert Morris to just 22.6 percent shooting from the field and 22.2 percent shooting from three in the first half of play. After a slow shooting start for Robert Morris, the Terriers began to mount a lead.
With 6:33 to play in the opening frame, sophomore guard
Jalen Jordan dropped in a bucket to give the Terriers a 21-12 advantage and marked their largest lead of the game. Jordan and graduate guard
Glenn Sanabria paced the Terriers. Jordan wrapped up the first half with nine points, while Sanabria had seven.
Robert Morris found its way right back into the contest by going on a 10-run that lasted nearly four minutes. The Terriers and Colonials would trade buckets for the remainder of the game until Robert Morris took a late lead with 1:05 to play. The Colonials' Jon Williams recorded a basket to give them a one-point lead before the Terriers called a full timeout.
With 37 seconds to play in the game, junior forward
Deniz Celen was called for an offensive foul, which put the ball back in the Colonials' hands. Robert Morris made it a three-point game as Charles Bain knocked down a pair of free-throws. The Colonials choose to foul the Terriers with four seconds to play before they were able to hoist up a potential game-tying shot attempt. Robert Morris held on to secure a 52-49 win and their league-leading third conference win of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 49 | Robert Morris – 52
- Jordan led all scorers with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field and went 2-of-5 from three-point range. Jordan has scored in double figures in all but two contests this season and scored 15 or more points in seven games. Nine of Jordan's points came in the first half of play.
- Sanabria registered 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor and pulled down four rebounds. With his 15 points, he moves into 19th-place on the Terriers' all-time scoring list with 1,132 career points. He surpassed Hank Daubenschmidt who had 1,129 career points. Sanabria is chasing Brent Jones in 18th-place with 1,142 career points.
- Celen finished the game with six points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. The junior swatted away a career-high three shots in 28 minutes of action. Celen has pulled down nine rebounds in back-to-back games.
- Over the past two seasons, the Terriers are now 15-4 on their home court dating back to the home opener in 2017-18.
- Robert Morris had a pair score in double-digits as Malik Petteway, and Yannis Mendy both poured in 13 points apiece.
UP NEXT:
The Terriers continue their three-game homestand when they welcome Saint Francis (PA) to the Pope on Saturday, January 12, at 4 p.m.
