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2017 Northeast Conference (NEC) Semifinals: No. 4 Saint Francis U vs. No. 3 Wagner College Highlights
2017 Northeast Conference (NEC) Semifinals Press Conference: No. 4 Saint Francis U Red Flash
2017 Northeast Conference (NEC) Semifinals Press Conference: No. 3 Wagner College Seahawks
Staten Island, NY – With a little over 2.0 seconds left, Saint Francis U guard Keith Braxton rattled home a three-point jumper at the final buzzer, leading the No. 4 seeded Red Flash to a pulsating 71-70 win over the No. 3 seed Seahawks, in the Northeast Conference (NEC) semifinals this afternoon in front of a loud crowd of 1,823 fans at the Spiro Sports Center.
With the loss, the Green & White finish with a final season mark of 16-14 while the Red Flash will take a 16-15 record into Tuesday night's NEC title game vs. either Mount St. Mary's or Robert Morris.
On the heels of a career-night against 2016 league champions, Fairleigh Dickinson, senior
Michael Carey (Nassau, Bahamas/Lamar Consolidated [San Jacinto College]) recorded his 27th career double-double, finishing with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field, 4-of-7 from beyond-the-arc and grabbed a game-best ten rebounds. Carey finishes his two-year Seahawk career with 843 career points in 64 career games (13.2 ppg average) while pulling down 583 rebounds (9.1 rpg) and recording 103 assists, while finishing tenth all-time in career free-throw shooting at 79.6 percent (176-of-221).
Junior guard
Corey Henson (Upper Marlboro, MD/DeMatha Catholic) was the only other Seahawk to finish in double-figures, as he matched his career-high of 25 points, 23 of which coming in the second half on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor and 5-of-7 from beyond-the-arc in 37 minutes of play. For Henson, he will enter his senior campaign with 1,150 career points, good for sole possession of 27th place on the Wagner all-time scoring list. In today's contest, the Upper Marlboro, MD native surpassed the likes of Oliver Featherston (1,129 career points), former teammate Marcus Burton (1,137 career points), Durell Vinson (1,144), Courtney Pritchard (1,147) in moving up the all-time scoring chart.
Four Red Flash players finished in double-figures, led by Isaiah Blackmon's 20 point performance in 38 minutes of play. Braxton finished with 15 points including the game-winner while Randall Gaskins, Jr. and Josh Nebo added 12 and 10, respectively.
The Seahawks fell behind 28-14 early before closing the half on a 15-7 run in making it 35-29 at the intermission as senior guard Carey scored 20 in the opening stanza. Carey hit a runner in the lane to give Wagner a 70-68 lead with 7.3 remaining in the game. Following an SFU timeout, the Red Flash worked the ball across midcourt before Jamaal King drove the lane before kicking it out to Braxton. The freshman guard launched his game-winning three-pointer with two seconds left to play and the ball hung on the rim for a second before finally falling through, sending the frenzied SFU sideline sprinting onto the court in celebration. The contest, which featured both teams hitting huge shots down the stretch, featured eight ties and nine lead changes.
"Welcome to March Madness. Just an unbelievable college game, an unbelievable college atmosphere this afternoon," said Wagner fifth-year head coach
Bashir Mason. "Two teams just going back and forth. Those kids played their hearts out, all of them, not just us, Saint Francis U. "Just a March-type shot happened to finish the game but I couldn't be more proud of my group for the effort and the fight and the heart they showed the entire 40 minutes to get down, battle back, take the lead," Mason added. "My guys were just great and give Saint Francis credit for how hard and tough they played and the guts they showed down the stretch."
"Unbelievable college basketball game. It's the Northeast Conference at its finest. The best league in America," said Saint Francis U head coach Rob Krimmel. "Coach Mason, his staff,
Michael Carey, what a battle - 40 minutes of basketball. Both teams hit so many big shots big shots hit down the stretch, Henson and Carey and those guys on the other side. I've got a lot of respect for Wagner and their program, what they stand for, how they play. And we told our guys coming into it, it was going to be a battle for 40 minutes. And it was a battle for 40 minutes."
"We got off to a hot start and were able to make some shots and thought we were able to get enough stops to be able to get out in transition," Krimmel added. "We knew Wagner was going to make a run, they made a run at the end of the first half, and came out to start the second half with a lot of intensity, and we were at the point as a team where we were bending we were about to break.You saw guys come over to the sideline and they were a little down on themselves, there were some spots in between guys on the bench, but we got everybody together. Give these guys credit, they responded in an unbelievable atmosphere, the people of Wagner put on a great show today in a great college basketball atmosphere. Big shot after big shot. Our guys didn't get rattled, and I'm just proud of the way we were able to compete and win a basketball game here in March."
The Seahawks took its first lead of the second half when Henson drilled a three off the feed from
JoJo Cooper (Wilmington, DE/Concord), who finished with six points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Both teams traded baskets over the next 7:21 with the lead never getting past three when Carey completed the traditional three-point play from the line with 2:52 showing on the clock and the Seahawks up 62-59. Saint Francis U scored nine of the next 15 points to knot the game at 68 as Jamaal King hit a huge three-pointer.
Carey and the Seahawk faithfully had hope as his "Magic Johnson"-esque hook shot in the paint gave the Green & White a 70-68 with just nine seconds before the Red Flash put one arguably the most memorable shots in Northeast Conference history. The Seahawks outrebounded the Red Flash, 39-28, thanks to owning the offensive glass at 21-8. SFU converted 15 points off fast break chances.
In addition to Carey, the Seahawks will graduate forwards
Greg Senat (Elmont, NY/Elmont [Marianapolis Prep]) and
Mike Aaman (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan [University of Rhode Island]). Senat will be suiting up for his second year on the Seahawks offensive line. Aaman leaves Grymes Hills after playing 77 career games for the Seahawks, scoring 715 points (9.3 ppg), and grabbing 506 rebounds (6.6 rpg) while scoring a career-high 26 points back on February 9 against the very same Red Flash team. Head Coach
Bashir Mason will have ten players returning this year's squad.
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