Gaskins leads as St. Francis (Pa.) holds off Sacred Heart

Feb 24, 2017, 01:50 pm

LORETTO, Pa. -- Randall Gaskins Jr. scored 13 points and six players added nine points or more as a balanced St. Francis (Pa.) defeated Sacred Heart 73-64 on Thursday night to keep its chances alive for hosting a first-round game in the Northeast Conference Tournament.

Josh Nebo, Isaiah Blackmon and Georgios Angelou each scored 12 points, Keith Braxton 11 and Andre Wolford nine for the Red Flash, who rebounded from a loss to Bryant. St. Francis (13-15, 10-7) led 41-31 at halftime but Sacred Heart cut the lead to eight points five times during the second half.

Quincy McKnight led the Pioneers (13-17, 8-9) with 18 points, including 7 of 7 at the foul line, and Joseph Lopez scored 17 with 12 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season.

St. Francis shot 44 percent from the floor (26-59) and made 10 of 25 3-pointers to Sacred Heart's 34-percent shooting overall and just 4 of 21 on 3s. Nebo had four blocks to tie the St. Francis single-season record with 69.