“The Most Important Missed Dunk in NEC History”
I was talking with Nelson Castillo (@NelCastNY on X) recently and brought up the missed dunk that the NEC hinged on in 2024-25. He responded that it was the most important missed dunk in NEC history. Unless someone out there has a better example, I think that’s right on the money. Let me set the stage for you here.
March 1, 2025.
23.9 seconds remaining, Saint Francis was up 68-65 on Chicago State in Loretto, Pennsylvania. The Cougars inbounded as the announcers discussed moped accidents. Despite the banter, this was actually a big moment late in the season for the NEC- then the Northeast Conference- and the opening shot of what we call March Madness.
If Saint Francis was able to hang on in these final 23 seconds, they’d earn a home game in Loretto for the NEC tournament and crucial homefield advantage for a Frankies team that needed as much help as they could get in the competitive league. Lose, and this was the final home game in Loretto this season, along with a road trip to start what would have been a road gauntlet to the Big Dance. If they could even make it that far. Even to this point, the Saint Francis run had been improbable. On Feb 15th, the Red Flash had lost on the road in New Britain, CT to drop to 5-8 on the season. After this, they rebounded to beat Le Moyne in overtime on the road in Syracuse and then won a second straight overtime game at home, this time against FDU. So, if nothing else, it was obvious the Red Flash knew how to play in these kind of situations.
The Cougars ran their play and Quincy Allen shot a good looking 3 attempt from the top of the circle. Drained. Tie game at 68. The Red Flash inbounded and moved quickly with Riley Parker streaking down the court with the ball, hoping to end it in regulation. He met Allen and lost possession. The ball landed, as if by magnetism, in the hands of a Cougar defender. Moving fast the other way, they passed the ball to Quincy Allen yet again, who had been Superman for the last 20 or so seconds. This was it; one bucket and it would be hard for Saint Francis to recover. He went up for the uncontested dunk and…
clang.
He missed.
The game would go to overtime and the Cougars could never get it rolling. Saint Francis held on to win their third straight overtime game and clinched the #3 seed and a home game.
"I've been in college basketball for almost 30 years, and I don't know that I've experienced a final 15 seconds in regulation like that,” said coach Rob Krimmel, who had just unknowingly coached his last home regular season game with Saint Francis.
He would next be coaching his last home playoff game in Loretto, although he probably didn’t know that then, either. This time, the Red Flash hosted Wagner in the opening round of the NEC tournament. SFU avoided overtime for the first time in four games.
With two seconds remaining and the score tied at 55, Riley Parker was fouled. He sank all 3 free throws and the Red Flash moved on. It’s impossible to say, of course, but would that really have happened if the Red Flash were playing on the road?
Assuming they did win, the likely next game would have been against #1 seed Central Connecticut State. Instead, we were treated to a road semifinal thriller against No. 2 LIU, where the Red Flash rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to stun the Sharks 71-68. Juan Cranford, Jr. scored 17 in the second half and suddenly Saint Francis had rallied from a certain loss on their home court to Chicago State to the cusp of an NCAA Tournament berth. The game is undoubtedly the motivating force behind the favorite LIU Sharks this season, but at the time it was more like watching an unlikely tournament run mixed with The Butterfly Effect.
Perhaps Nelson Castillo (@NelCastNY) put it best in the moment:
"I’ve been thinking about the ripple effect the Quincy Allen missed dunk from last Saturday had. If he had made that dunk, SFU would have likely lost and would’ve had to start on the road at Stonehill as a 5 seed and it [would] probably change the trajectory of this entire NEC tournament. Now SFU will be playing in a NEC final. It is pretty wild."
That final, played on March 11 at top-seeded Central Connecticut State's Detrick Gymnasium, was a defensive slog for the ages—the lowest-scoring NEC title game in history. Saint Francis ground out a 46-43 victory with neither team ever leading by more than four points. With seconds remaining, CCSU's last-gasp heave from near midcourt looked on line but clanged off the back rim, eliciting what I can only describe as the most tortured collective groan I’ve ever heard in a college basketball arena. The Red Flash bench erupted; their 34-year NEC title drought was over. CCSU, prohibitive favorites until the end, would be going home and wondering that age old question: what if?
Perhaps it’s fate that we’ll never wonder “what if” with the Red Flash. They completed an incredible run to the NCAA Tournament and to the top of the NEC, but just weeks later announced that they’d be transitioning to Division III. That announcement, of course, was delayed because the Frankies had just made the NCAA tournament. So while the missed dunk couldn’t stop what proved to be inevitable, at least it did delay it.
And we know it because of one missed dunk.
