As they used to say in Brooklyn, wait ’til next year.
Again.
St. Francis Brooklyn’s NCAA Tournament dreams were crushed in their packed gymnasium, remaining one of five original Division I programs never to have reached The Big Dance.
Second-seeded Robert Morris got hot from the 3-point line after halftime and the favored Terriers couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean until it was too late, seeing their magical season come to a sudden thud, 66-63, Tuesday night in Brooklyn Heights in the NEC Tournament final.
“It’s really tough when you get so close and you don’t get there, but it’s really hard to do,” St. Francis coach Glenn Braica said. “You don’t always meet all your goals. We came up a couple points short of one of them. But it doesn’t change how I feel about these guys. I love them. They’re great kids.
“They’ve put their stamp on this program where people respect the program. And these guys should be proud of that.”
St. Francis (23-11) staged a furious rally in the final minutes, cutting an 11-point deficit to one, but they could never get over the hump. They had a golden opportunity to tie with 2.4 seconds left, but Tyreek Jewell missed all three free-throw attempts after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt and Lowell Ulmer’s near full-court heave agonizingly caromed off the back rim.
Their two stars, Jalen Cannon and Brent Jones, struggled mightily against the Robert Morris zone, combining for just 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting and committing eight turnovers. They weren’t alone in their miscues. St. Francis committed 17 turnovers and made just 9-of-22 free throws. That included Jewell missing three with a chance to tie in the final seconds.
“He’s my guy win, lose or draw,” Braica said of Jewell, who scored a game-high 19 points. “He had a great game, he played great all year. That happens. If you’re a player, you put yourself out there, and when you put yourself out there, at times you fail. Michael Jordan failed. They all fail. And you learn from it. People who are successful in life move on from it, and turn a negative into a positive.”
Robert Morris was the one league foe Cannon, the NEC Player of the Year, didn’t have his way with. In the first matchup, he managed only five points. The Colonials’ zone bothered him, as did their length.
Jones, meanwhile, took blame for the loss, faulting himself for thinking too much. The Brooklyn native was worried about committing turnovers and setting up teammates, instead of simply reacting.
“I feel awful,” Jones said. “Five assists, four turnovers, as a point guard, senior, you’re not supposed to do that.
“I wasn’t aggressive. I thought too much. I wasn’t being a basketball player.”
Braica, optimistic by nature, preferred to focus on several positives. He sees this is a start to building a sustainable winner. St. Francis has put together back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in over a decade. Jones and Cannon graduate, but the rest of the core returns. He has already signed one impressive prospect, 6-foot-9 Queens forward Joshua Nurse, and red-shirted two talented wings, Jon Doss and Keon Williams.
St. Francis will play in the postseason for the first time since 1963, receiving an automatic bid to the NIT courtesy of the regular season NEC crown. For three nights over the last week, the Terriers turned the tiny Pope Athletic Center gym into their own version of Rupp Arena or Cameron Indoor Stadium, the place so loud down the stretch Tuesday night it nearly shook, fans tucked into every possible corner of the old building.
“This became a hot ticket. I had guys texting me they were trying to go to brokers and the brokers obviously didn’t have them,” Braica said, with a laugh. “I never thought you would see that on Remsen Street.
“When I was a kid I used to watch Notre Dame play UCLA and Kentucky and I used to say, ‘Why can’t we have that in Brooklyn?’ Last few days we had it in Brooklyn to some extent.”