In a postseason defined by clutch moments, Saint Francis U saved its biggest for last.
The third-seeded Red Flash capped a remarkable run of heart-stopping finishes by grinding out a 46-43 victory over top-seeded CCSU on the road at a sold-out Detrick Gymnasium, capturing their first Northeast Conference (NEC) men’s basketball title in 34 years.
With six straight nail-biting wins, including three overtime thrillers to close the regular season and three NEC Tournament victories decided by a combined nine points - the smallest margin in tourney history - SFU (16-17) proved once again that no moment is too big and no challenge too daunting on their path to the crown, an improbable journey for a team picked to finish last in the NEC preseason coaches' poll.
The title win was SFU’s second all-time and first since its fabled 1990-91 squad posted a 97-82 triumph over FDU in the NEC final behind the play of all-time greats Joe Anderson and Mike Iuzzolino, who went on to play in the NBA two seasons for the Dallas Mavericks.
Coming off back-to-back last-second wins over sixth-seeded Wagner and second-seeded LIU - allowing just 61.5 ppg in the process - the Red Flash brought that same defensive intensity to stifle a Blue Devils squad riding a 14-game win streak, tied for the longest in the nation.
To say that offense was hard to come by in the first half would be an understatement. It took more than 14 minutes for either team to crack double digits, and neither squad led by more than four points in a grinding 20 minutes that fittingly ended in a 20-20 stalemate.
NEC Rookie of the Year Juan Cranford (6'3''-G) Jr., the hero of SFU’s semifinal win at LIU, opened the second half with the Red Flash’s first five points. But much like the first half, neither team could create any real separation, with the largest lead never extending beyond four points and the game featuring 13 ties in a tense back-and-forth battle.
With the Red Flash clinging to a 41-37 advantage, CCSU (25-7) junior swingman Devin Haid (6'5''-G-1999) sank two free throws, then buried a jumper to knot the score at 41 with 1:42 on the clock.
After a pair of empty possessions on both sides, SFU junior big man Valentino Pinedo (6'8''-F) muscled his way to the rim for a layup and drew a foul but couldn’t convert the and-one.
Out of a CCSU timeout, senior guard Joe Ostrowsky sliced through the Red Flash defense for an uncontested layup, tying the game once again with just 17 seconds to play.
With the ball in their hands and the game on the line - just as they had so many times before - SFU head coach Rob Krimmel let his team play. The Red Flash worked the ball to defensive stalwart Daemar Kelly (6'5''-G), who floated in a clutch jumper with nine seconds left to put SFU back on top, 45-43.
CCSU raced up the floor, but before the Blue Devils could get a shot off, Christopher Moncrief (6'6''-G-2004) swiped the ball from Haid and was fouled with just 1.6 seconds remaining.
Moncrief split his free throws, and after a CCSU timeout, the Blue Devils had one last chance trailing by three.
Haid took the inbounds pass near midcourt, dribbled once and launched a desparation shot that looked pure but hit the back rim, igniting a celebration for the Red Flash faithful who made the six-plus hour trip to Connecticut.
Cranford Jr. added NEC Tournament MVP to his list of accolades after finishing with a game-high tying 14 points in the championship game. Over the course of the tournament, he averaged 15.0 ppg. In the semifinals against LIU, he exploded for 17 of his 20 points in the second half, including three free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining to ice the 71-68 victory. Cranford became just the fourth player to win NEC Rookie of the Year & NEC Tournament MVP in the same season, joining Monmouth’s Alex Blackwell (1990), Rider’s Charles Smith (1994) and Robert Morris’ Karon Abraham (2010).
Cranford was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammate Riley Parker (6'2''-G-2003), who contributed just six points in the final but already had his memorable postseason moment in the quarterfinals against Wagner. Parker sealed the win for SFU in dramatic fashion, sinking three free throws with just two seconds left on the clock to give the Red Flash a 58-55 victory.
Haid paced CCSU with 14 points to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team.
FDU’s Terrence Brown (6'3''-G) and LIU’s Malachi Davis (6'4''-G) landed the final two All-Tournament team nods.

Courtesy of northeastconference.org

NEC Final:
CCSU - SFU 43-46
NEC Semifinals:
CCSU - FDU 76-72, OT
LIU - SFU 68-71
NEC Quarterfinals:
CCSU - Le Moyne 86-67
LIU - Chicago State 68-57
SFU - Wagner 58-55
FDU - Stonehill 71-56