St. Francis finally ends 34-year NCAA tournament drought after massive win over CCSU

The St. Francis Red Flash beat the Central Connecticut Blue Devils 46-43 at the Detrick Gymnasium to win their first ever Northeast Conference Championship on Tuesday. It was a game that did not produce much excitement, as both teams struggled with their offense, but the Red Flash just managed to edge it after winning the second half with a three-point margin.

The last time a Division I team won its conference tournament championship without reaching 50 points was Georgia State in the 2015 Sun Belt Conference championship game, when it beat Georgia Southern 38-36.

In the first half, which ended 20-20, the Red Flash and the Blue Devils combined to shoot 18-for-63 (28.6%), including 4-for-25 (16%) from 3-point range. In the second half, St. Francis had the slight edge following some last-minute drama.

After Demar Kelly scored a go-ahead jumper to make it 42-40 for St. Francis with nine seconds left, CCSU had enough time to work out something. However, Devin Haid turned the ball over with two seconds to play. This meant that the Blue Devils had to foul immediately to send St. Francis’ Chris Moncrief to the line with just 1.6 seconds on the clock. He made only one of his two free throws to give CCSU one last chance.

Unfortunately for them, a half-court shot by Haid at the final buzzer hit the back of the rim and bounced away to seal the win for St. Francis.

Juan Cranford led all scorers for St. Francis as he recorded 14 points, four rebounds and one assist in 33 minutes. Valentino Pinedo had nine points, four rebounds and one assist. Meanwhile, Devin Haid led all scorers for CCSU with 14 points, while Abdul Momoh, Joe Ostrowsky and Darin Smith Jr. had five points each.

How significant is this win for St. Francis?

The victory on Tuesday is St. Francis’ first NEC win since 1991. It also gives them a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 34 years. This will be the Red Flash’s second ever appearance at the NCAA Tournament.

Aside from the fact that the victory earns St. Francis a place in March Madness, it also gives them some bragging rights, as they had lost their previous five meetings against Central Connecticut. Next up for them is the NCAA Tournament, where they will look to make a big impact.