Saint Francis students take in March madness game at watch party, thankful for exciting season despite the loss
LORETTO, Pa. (WTAJ)– Several Saint Francis students gathered at the John F. Kennedy Student Center on Tuesday night, to watch the men's basketball team take on Alabama State in the first Four rounds of March Madness.
This was no small occasion for Saint Francis, as it was the program's first time making the NCAA Tournament since 1991. Several students were sporting red t-shirts for the game, meant to poke fun at how small of a school Saint Francis is, that said 'Nowheresville.'
'Yeah, I'd say it's pretty crazy. I definitely did not expect this whenever I first came here but it's awesome to see the guys doing really well,' said one student who came out for the watch party.
It was an unexpected season, even for band member Stephen Jacobs, who watched every home game the team played this year. After a slow start, his hopes weren't that high.
'But whenever we got to playoffs they really kicked it into gear,' Jacobs said. 'Whenever we went to the NEC Championship game it was insane.'
'It was pretty exciting when we won the conference championship game, I completely blew out my voice for the next 2 days,' said another Red Flash fan. 'I couldn't speak.'
Ultimately the game ended in heartbreak with Alabama State winning on a near buzzer-beater. Still, the team's loyal fans say it was all worth it.'They have not seen this type of exposure in maybe ever and this type of thing is just something that can really invigorate a community,' Jacobs said.
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