Dre Calloway made up for a season’s worth of disappointment with a shot that could ultimately propel St. Francis College into the Northeast Conference tournament.
The 6-foot guard from Harlem, who has battled shoulder and ankle injuries, sent the Terriers to a thrilling 76-75 win over Wagner College with a clutch basket in the lane with just 2.8 seconds left last night in Brooklyn.
“I just want to finish up strong,” said Calloway, who missed most of last season with a torn labrum and torn rotator cuff and has been slowed this year by an ankle injury. “Being it’s my senior year and we’re in ninth place, hopefully this win and that shot helps us gain some confidence.”
The shot capped frenetic final minutes that saw St. Francis blow a 10-point lead, then get a key stop and execute on its final possession. The play was a designed isolation for forward Jalen Cannon, but with Wagner double-teaming Cannon, Calloway darted to the basket instead.
With his off right hand, he softly dropped in a high-arcing floater off the glass. After a timeout, Wagner junior Latif Rivers, who put the Seahawks ahead with 1:33 left, failed to get off a shot before time expired.
“He just improvised and that’s what a good point guard does,” St. Francis coach Glenn Braica said of Calloway, who scored a season-high 11 points off the bench and added three assists. “That was a helluva shot.”
Ben Mockford led St. Francis with 18 points, Travis Nichols had 16 and Cannon 13.
The loss cost Wagner an opportunity to remain within striking distance of the conference lead. It is now in fifth place — a win would have kept it in second — with three games remaining.
Afterward, first-year coach Bashir Mason said he felt the difference was his team’s inability to keep the Terriers off the glass, as they out-rebounded Wagner (15-11, 9-6) 41-34, and out of the lane. Three technical fouls in the second half, called on Mason, Rivers and leading scorer Jonathon Williams (team-high 16 points), didn’t help, either.
“It’s extremely frustrating because I thought it was a really good game, both teams played extremely hard, … and things just didn’t break our way,” Mason said.
St. Francis (11-15, 7-8), moved into eighth place — the final spot for the upcoming eight-team postseason tournament. For all of the Terriers’ ups and downs, they could easily be in the conference’s top four, if not for two overtime losses and a few other close calls.
“They’ve taken a lot of hits and they just keep coming back,” Braica said. “I’m proud of them. Everybody is good when things are going well, but when it’s tough, you see your true character.”