BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY – The St. Francis College Brooklyn men's basketball team (1-1, 1-1 NEC) picked up its first victory of the season as it defeated Bryant (3-2, 1-1 NEC), 93-91, in come-from-behind fashion on Wednesday. The Terriers used a strong second half surge to down the Bulldogs.
The Terriers had four student-athletes score in double-figures and were paced by sophomore guard
Rob Higgins who scored a career-high 24 points. St. Francis' 93 points were the second-most that they have scored in a Conference game under Head Coach
Glenn Braica (Terriers scored 99 points in a win over Sacred Heart on Jan. 7, 2012).
St. Francis erased a 16-point deficit with 8:36 to play in the game. The comeback was fueled by a prolific 15-1 run that spanned 4:14 and cut Bryant's lead from 79-63 to 80-78. Over the final 8:36 of the game, the Terriers outscored the Bulldogs, 30-12, to secure the comeback victory.
Down the stretch of the game, the Terriers received a key three-pointer from junior guard
Larry Moreno, which was setup by
Rob Higgins' steal to cut Bryant's lead to 83-82 with 3:17 to go. The Terriers were able to knot the game up at 85-85 after a made free-throw by junior forward
David Muenkat with 1:41 to play.
On the Terriers' following possession Muenkat gave St. Francis a lead it would not relinquish as he threw down a two-handed jam after backing down his defender in the paint and drawing a foul. After Muenkat's dunk the Terriers' went up 87-85 and would not look back.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 93 | Bryant – 91
- Sophomore guard Rob Higgins paced the offense with a career-high 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and went 3-of-8 from behind the arc in 31 minutes of action. Higgins had four assists and three rebounds to go along with his 24 points. The sophomore tallied 18 of his 24 points in the second half of play as he shot 6-of-11 from the field in the frame. Higgins knocked down all three of his three-pointers in the second half, which helped fuel the Terriers' comeback. He also added three steals on the defensive end.
- Graduate guard/forward Travis Atson recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds as he got his first start as a Terrier. The Brooklyn, NY native also dished out five assists in 38 minutes of action. Atson shot 7-of-12 from the field as he knocked down shots from the perimeter and got to the basket on strong drives. Through his first two games as a Terrier he is averaging 19.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.
- Graduate guard Unique McLean chipped in 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds as he nearly finished with his first double-double of the season. He shot 6-of-12 from the field and shot a perfect 3-of-3 from the free-throw line in 35 minutes of play.
- Senior guard Chauncey Hawkins played an integral role in the Terriers' comeback effort as he scored all 11 of his points in the second half of play. The guard shot 4-of-6 from the field and dished out three assists in 15 minutes of play.
- Junior guard Larry Moreno scored eight points in 18 minutes off the bench. Moreno scored six of his eight points in the second half and came up with five key points down the stretch. The guard knocked down a clutch three-pointer with 3:17 to play to cut Bryant's lead to 83-82. He then made a driving layup with 2:16 to play to give the Terriers a brief 84-82 lead.
- Junior forward David Muenkat added five points and six rebounds off the bench. Muenkat gave the Terriers the lead for good with 1:01 to play as he threw down a two-handed jam after posting up his defender.
- Junior forward Vuk Stevanic totaled eight points on 3-of-4 shooting and added five rebounds in 21 minutes of play.
- The Terriers outrebounded the Bulldogs, 40-32. They also dished out 19 assists to the Bulldogs' 15.
- St. Francis outscored Bryant off turnovers (17-15), in the paint (52-38), and on fast breaks (26-20). Additionally, the Terriers scored 16 second chance points, while the Bulldogs scored nine.
UP NEXT:
The Terriers make their first road trip of the season when they travel to New Britain, CT to play a two-game series at Central Connecticut beginning on Tuesday, December 15, at 7 p.m.
