King, Braxton help St. Francis top Mt. St. Mary's 80-69

Jan 4, 2019, 02:55 am

LORETTO, Pa. -- Jamaal King scored 25 points and Keith Braxton added 17 points and 17 rebounds -- his 29th career double-double -- and St. Francis (Pa.) opened Northeast Conference play with an 80-69 defeat of Mount St. Mary's Thursday night.

King scored a layup that pulled St. Francis (5-7) into a 40-40 tie early in the second half, Braxton added a 3-pointer in a 12-4 run.

Andre Wolford added 10 points for the Red Flash. King was 4-for-4 from distance.

Mount St. Mary's came as close as 50-49 on a Vado Morse trey, but Wolford hit an answering 3 for St. Francis and the Red Flash never surrendered the lead, going up by as many as 12 down the stretch.

Omar Habwe led the Mountaineers (3-11) with 21 points and three steals, Morse scored 14 with four assists, Damian Chong Qui added 13 points and Jalen Gibbs 11. Mount St. Mary's opened the second half on a 9-0 run, holding St. Francis scoreless for 2 1/2 minutes to grab a 40-38 lead.