A Year Later, Clutch Free Throws Give Terriers Measure of Revenge

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS. Almost a year after the most devastating loss in St. Francis men’s basketball history, last Saturday the Robert Morris Colonials— whose 66-63 win over the host Terriers in the 2015 Northeast Conference men’s final dashed the hopes of long-suffering St. Francis fans—returned to the scene of the crime: the Generoso Pope Athletic Center.

This time, two decidedly different teams (a total of eleven players—six from Robert Morris and five from St. Francis—are gone from last year’s rosters) played to an ending much more palatable to Terrier faithful: a 56-49 win for the home team.

“It’s a war every time we play them; that’s just the way it is,” Terrier head coach Glenn Braica declared about Robert Morris, who swept both games at the Pope last season.

In many ways, the differences between the games, 10 months apart, couldn’t be starker. More than 1,000 people jammed into the Pope last March 10th for the first NEC final hosted by St. Francis. Press row was teeming with reporters from all corners of the city, eager to chronicle Terrier success—which never came.

“It’s different players, so I don’t know how much of [the past] comes into play,” a relaxed Braica said following the game. “The reality is, that’s who we played last year in the championship. We were the regular season champs, they were tournament champs.”

On Saturday a much smaller crowd, including a single scribe, watched as the Terriers displayed grit, discipline and clutch free throw shooting, dealing the Colonials (3-13, 1-3 NEC) a dispiriting loss on the back end of their annual Brooklyn pilgrimage.

St. Francis (5-11, 2-2 NEC), led by Antonio Jenifer’s 10 points and 14 rebounds, sealed the win with 12 straight free throws over the game’s final two minutes. The Terriers were 22 of 30 (73%) from the charity stripe, a far cry from the 9 of 22 effort—included three misses at the game’s end—that doomed them in last year’s NEC final.

Noteworthy among the 400 or so fans gathered for the rematch were those whose fates were directly tied to last year’s outcome, headlined by Lowell Ulmer, a 2015 St. Francis graduate who was on the court that night. Ulmer, now an assistant coach at Coney Island’s Liberation Diploma Plus High School, appreciated his past experience.

“Coming back to see them [Robert Morris] in our gym again, emotionally you really want a win today,” Lowell said between halves. “It puts it in perspective how special a year we had [last season].”

One observer excited to be back at St. Francis —but not about Saturday’s outcome—was Lucious Jones, Sr., whose son Lucious “Lucky” Jones, a 2015 Robert Morris graduate, was instrumental in trampling Terrier fans’ hearts in last year’s match up.

“The most enjoyable time I had is when we won the championship, so just to be back in this house is really special,” Jones said. “Lucky is missed but number 1 [Robert Morris freshman Isaiah Still] reminds me of him because he gives the team the spunk that they need.”

Despite his team’s loss the Colonials’ number one fan remains optimistic about his team’s future.

“Having so many new guys it’s [tough] getting used to [them]. They’re going to be back in the championship [again in 2016],” Jones said, emphatically.

When asked what’s toughest about being a Terrier fan, John Tully, a 1967 graduate and Chair of the St. Francis Board of Trustees, was blunt.

“In my life we’ve always come close, but have never gotten there,” said Tully, and then recounted how in 1967 the Terriers needed a win over St. Peters to qualify for the National Invitational Tournament.

“But we lost the last game.”

James Rodriguez, graduating from St. Francis this coming May, is optimistic that the Terriers—one of only five Division I schools to never have played in an NCAA tournament, will make the big dance in his lifetime.

“I hope so,” he said, laughing. “I think they can get it done sometime soon.”

PHOTO CAPTION: St. Francis students massed at last year’s Northeast Conference Men’s Basketball final
PHOTO CREDIT: St. Francis Athletics