St. Francis wants to keep the good times rolling.
The St. Francis College men’s basketball team fell one win short of its first-ever National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament berth, but that hasn’t left the team lamenting over what might have been. Instead, it’s enhanced the squad’s thirst for what is to come, one player said.
“It’s very tough to get to the top and not get it done, but I feel like that helped us get better,” said senior forward Amdy Fall. “The returning players want to help our team win and make sure the school has the same type of experience that it had last year.”
St. Francis won its first Northeast Conference regular season title since 2004 before falling 66–63 to Robert Morris in the championship game. By qualifying for the National Invitational Tournament St. Francis (23–12) earned its first postseason berth since 1963.
The run put St. Francis on the national stage, energized a fan base that began to fill the Pope Center to capacity, and captured basketball fans’ attention throughout the city, the team’s coach said.
“I really think last year people became St. Francis fans,” head coach Glenn Braica said. “Everybody watched those games. Everybody was really behind us.”
If the Terriers squad is going to remain at the top of the conference next year, it will need to do so without this season’s two best players — point guard Brent Jones and conference player of the year forward Jalen Cannon, who both graduated. But Braica believes Chris Hopper and Amdy Fall can fill those sneakers.
They’ll maintain the Terriers’ identity a good rebounders and defenders, Braica said, praising Fall and Hooper’s improved scoring ability to score and the work they did to improve.
“Amdy really expanded his game, like the way Jalen Cannon did over the course of his career,” Braica said. “Him and Chris Hooper did a great job this summer with their bodies and their skill work. We look forward to them taking the next step.”
If their performance against Robert Morris in March was any indication, Tyreek Jewel and sophomore point guard Glenn Sanabria could make St. Francis a better shooting team overall — Jewell scored 19 points and hit four threes, and Sanabria had 10 points, including three treys.
Teammates expect Sanabria to return next year with new confidence, Fall said.
“He is so comfortable,” he said. “Now he knows how we want to play defense.”
The Terriers will also have a host of new face with four freshmen, including Marlon Alcindor, who played at High School for Construction in Queens, former Queens High School of Teaching star Joshua Nurse, and forward Keon Williams, who has the tools to potentially help right away.
And they’ve got their work cut out for them, if they don’t want this year’s excitement to be a one-off, Braica said.
“They liked having success and I think it motivated them,” he said.