"New Cinderella team" - Fans celebrate St. Francis massive win over CCSU to punch March Madness ticket

The St. Francis Red Flash beat the Central Connecticut Blue Devils 46-43 on Tuesday to clinch the Northeastern Conference Tournament championship. The win earned the Red Flash just their second trip to the prestigious NCAA Tournament.

The game was put to bed when Red Flash star Daemar Kelly scored with nine seconds left on the clock to quash the resistance by the No. 1-seeded Blue Devils.

During his postgame news conference, St. Francis coach Rob Krimmel revealed his shock at the manner in which his team clinched the championship game and made it into the NCAA Tournament.

“If you didn’t have a rooting interest, what a basketball game,” Rob Krimmel said. “We set the offense back a little bit. It was a good, old-fashioned rock fight, but we did a great job all night of not allowing them to get on a sustained run.

"It’s a little surreal right now. It hasn’t really sunk in. When you start in the summer and you have your first practice and first game, everyone in the country is working towards this.”

College basketball fans on X had mixed reactions to St. Francis winning the Northeastern Conference Tournament championship and making it into March Madness.

"WHO??…I like it. New Cinderella team i’m cheering for," one fan said.

Some fans revealed that they had found their underdog team to root for during March Madness.

"Cinderella's back! Saint Francis PA stunned the #1 seed," another fan said.

"What a run!" one fan said.

"They’re about to get dog walked 150-30 by duke lol," a fan said.

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St. Francis coach revealed the key to championship victory

Before beating the Central Connecticut Blue Devils, the St. Francis Red Flash had lost five in a row to the same opponent, including a sweep during the regular season. The conference championship win was their first since 1991, which was the only one in Red Flash history.

Red Flash coach Rob Krimmel also had three losses in the conference tournament championship game (2017, 2019, 2020) before Tuesday evening's triumph. During his postgame news conference, he revealed how his team pulled off the epic win despite being underdogs against Central Connecticut.

"We had to make it difficult for them,” Krimmel said. “They’re so talented. In the first half, as a staff, we said, ‘We are making them shoot contested shots.’ And we were missing some open ones. Defensively we were locked in. I thought we did a much better job rebounding tonight and not letting them get second and third opportunities at the rim.”

The St. Francis Red Flash will wait to know their long-awaited March Madness fate and seeding on Selection Sunday.