Brooklyn Heights

St. Francis beats Fairleigh Dickinson for seventh straight win

Clinch at least a tie for NEC regular season title

February 20, 2015 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle
St. Francis senior Jalen Cannon became the third Terrier to score his 1,600th point. But after the game, he said he would trade all of his personal accomplishments for an NCAA tournament bid. Eagle photo by Rob Abruzzese
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The St. Francis Terriers clinched a tie in the Northeast Conference and won their seventh straight game when they beat Fairleigh Dickinson University 70-54 in Brooklyn Heights on Thursday night.

The Terriers were led by Jalen Cannon, who scored 27 points with 15 rebounds. Cannon’s performance, along with 28 offensive boards, made up for a no-show performance from Brent Jones, and an offense that shot just 38.5 percent and committed 19 turnovers.

Despite the offensive struggles, this was an easy win for the Terriers. Cannon quickly powered them to an early 17-12 lead. FDU had a run where it took a 22-21 lead with 7:50 left in the first half, but it was all Terriers after that as the team quickly went on a 12-2 run and led 33-26 at halftime.

Jones didn’t score at all during the game and only played five minutes of the second half, but the Terriers coasted to an easy victory as Tyreek Jewell and Glenn Sanabria combined to score 11 points and played excellent defense.

“They stepped up big time,” Cannon said of Jewell and Sanabria. “Brent being out, he was being positive off the bench being the good leader that he is.”

Despite the easy victory, coach Braica was upset with his team’s execution. However, he saw it as a chance to remind his team that despite its success, nothing is guaranteed and the season isn’t over.
“We don’t pay attention to [clinching a tie in the conference],” Braica said. “It’s in our hands and if we don’t [win the conference outright] we don’t deserve it. Today was good because there were some things I had to yell at them about and that will hopefully snap them out of it. It’s human nature.”

Cannon also made history during the game when he became the third player in St. Francis history to score his 1,600th point. After the game, Cannon said he would trade all of his personal accomplishments for an NCAA tournament appearance.

“[Making the NCAA tournament] would mean a lot more than anything else I’ve done at St. Francis,” Cannon said. “It was always a dream for me ever since I was in high school watching schools like Duke.”

St. Francis has three more regular season games left to play including a game at home against St. Francis University (Pa.) on Saturday. If it wins one of the three, or if Bryant University loses any one of its three remaining games, St. Francis will clinch sole possession of first place in the Northeast Conference.

 

  • Michael Dominguez contributing
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