Mark Flagg has 17 and 17 as Saint Francis Falls Just Short at George Washington

By: Ethan Hennessy

Washington D.C.

Opening night across the country was a special day for college basketball fans as they were allowed back in arenas to watch games live in person. Fans were treated to many great matchups on Tuesday night and the game between Saint Francis (PA) and George Washington did not disappoint. When asked about being able to play in front of fans both coaches spoke positivley “Absolutley loved it” said Rob Krimmel of Saint Francis. Jamion Christian detailed “I can feel that energy from the crowd… Its a buzz in the building”.

Saint Francis got off to a slow start shooting 4-18 through the first ten minutes of the game. Krimmel explained how they did not get to the back end of their plays because they were excited about playing in front of fans and just wanting to get a bucket as well as leaving some shorts short on the front of the rim. The offense when it did start though flowed through Mark Flagg who had 17 points and corralled a career high 17 rebounds. Krimmel raved about his center’s offensive production “When you have a guy that like especially when you aren’t able to shoot the ball well like tonight when you can put the ball on the block and play through a post player that makes it a lot easier.” and his defensive effort “He was tremendous down there both offensivley and defensivley. There are some big guys over there and I thought he did a great job of defending them.”.

On the other hand George Washington was able to capitalize on the Red Flash slow start jumping out to a 39-24 lead 32 seconds before halftime. The to start the second half Saint Francis rattled off six straight points and slowly mounted a comeback that took the entiety of the second half. George Washington turned to their UConn and Virginia Tech transfers Brendan Adams and Joe Bamisile to sustain the surge from Saint Francis. Adams scored 22 points incluidng hitting four three pointers and Bamisile contributed 20 with five rebounds and three assists.

Saint Franics never took the lead or was tied with the colonials however with 5.4 seconds left they had the ball and drew up an out of bounds play that gave Flagg a layup at the basket, but the shot missed, and George Washington claimed the victory on opening night at the Smith Center.

Up next for the Colonials they will look to knock off the #21 ranked Maryland Terrapins in College Park on Thursday. For Saint Francis they will host Franciscan inside Degol Arena in Loretto PA.