The St. Francis College men’s basketball team was far from lucky on a record-breaking night for point guard Brent Jones.
Robert Morris forward Lucky Jones hit a three-pointer from the corner with 17 seconds left to hand the Terriers a tough 67–65 Northeast Conference loss at the Pope Center last Saturday night.
The victory pulled Robert Morris into a tie with St. Francis at the top of the conference standings. St. Francis won the first meeting on Jan 16.
“It was a great college basketball game,” said St. Francis coach Glenn Braica. “Two good teams fighting it out for the second time in a week. We got one last week at their place, and they got us here today.”
Senior Jalen Cannon totaled 21 points and 16 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. Brent Jones claimed the St. Francis College all-time assist mark by handing out nine helpers to give him 535 over his career. He added 11 points and Tyreek Jewel chipped in 15 for the Terriers.
But Jones wants more than personal milestones.
“My goal is to make history for myself and this program by winning the NEC championship,” Jones said. “After that, whatever individual or career goals I have, I can look back and say ‘I did it.’ ”
St. Francis had multiple chances to capture its fourth-straight conference win, but shot 16 of 28 from the free throw line and just 36 percent from the field. Still the Terriers were leading 65–63 with 50 seconds remaining when St. Francis junior Amdy Fall missed a layup on the break, giving the Colonials new life.
Robert Morris’s David Appolon came up with the game’s biggest offensive rebound and found Lucky Jones (15 points), who then hit a high-arcing three-pointer with 17 seconds to play to give the Colonials a 66–65 lead before collapsing to the floor with a sprained ankle. St. Francis had one last chance to tie, but Brent Jones missed a drive with two seconds left. Robert Morris (10–10, 6–2) held on for the win.
“St. Francis is tough because of their physicality and rebounding,” said Robert Morris coach Andrew Toole. “Lucky’s been a very good player in this league for a long time. We needed him to make a play and he did.”
From most of the stat sheet, it appeared St. Francis (12–9, 6–2) shouldn’t have had to fight for a win at game’s end. The Terriers outrebounded the Colonials 45–33 and had three fewer turnovers.
Things went Robert Morris’ way for much of the first half as the Colonials — behind Rodney Pryor’s 12 points — led 32–24 until the Terriers went on a 7–3 run to trail 35–31 at intermission. St. Francis is no stranger to playing from behind, having come back for four of its six conference wins. The Terriers scored 10-straight points, capped by Cannon’s layup, to take a 54–52 lead with 9:40 to play in the game.
The Terriers had ample opportunities to put the Colonials away prior to Lucky Jones’ three. The loss left Brent Jones feeling this was a game St. Francis let get away.
“Every stat we kind of won it all,” Jones said. “But it’s a lesson learned and we just gotta bounce back and focus on the next one.”
