Chris Moncrief and Daemar Kelly wanted to find fresh opportunities elsewhere. Moncrief, who started his collegiate basketball career at Evansville, chose to come closer to home before the 2023-24 basketball season when he signed with Saint Francis (Pa.).
During Moncrief’s freshman season, he appeared 29 times for the Aces, but never started and averaged 2.4 points per game.
“I think it was the environment and the coaching here,” Moncrief said. “They really ingrained in me that they were going to help develop me on and off the court. That’s what really made me like it. Being near Pittsburgh was a bonus.”
Moncrief, who is from Turtle Creek and graduated from the Kiski School, teamed up with another fellow Western Pennsylvania transfer, Penn Hills’ Daemar Kelly, and a few others to help the Red Flash win the Northeast Conference this season and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991.
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Kelly made a jumper with 9.8 seconds remaining to put the Red Flash ahead during their 46-43 win over top-seeded Central Connecticut State. Kelly, who averaged 1.5 points per game and didn’t make any starts with Quinnipiac as a freshman, felt at home with Saint Francis.
The Red Flash are a program that has to promise development as a recruiting tool. Saint Francis coach recently told CBS Sports that he has no NIL budget.
The Red Flash brought in six transfers this season, including Kelly. Kelly fit in well, contributing 8.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assist per game.
“It was when I was speaking to the coach that I felt it was the best fit for me,” Kelly said. “They welcomed me from day one. I want to thank them for that. Without them, I don’t know where I would be.”
Saint Francis is on a six-game winning streak, but will enter the NCAA Tournament with a 16-17 record and the only team with a losing record. The Red Flash will likely head to the First Four in Dayton to start the event.
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But Saint Francis knows what it’s like to overcome low expectations. In the preseason NEC coaches poll, the Red Flash were picked to finish in a tie for last with Stonehill.
The Red Flash finished fourth in the regular season.
“It shows how much work we put in as a team,” Moncrief said. “We saw the polls. That motivated us to work more on our craft and get the chemistry we need. We knew if we had the chemistry we could win because we felt we were even with other teams in terms of talent.”
Kelly said the Red Flash won’t be intimidated by any environment. He believes Saint Francis’ coaching staff has the right way to make them feel comfortable.
“They provide us with enough information to be comfortable in a scenario like we had against Georgetown, Clemson or Dayton earlier this season,” Kelly said.
Parents charged after toddler injured by wolf at Pennsylvania zoo – CBS News
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The parents of a 17-month-old child are facing endangerment charges after the toddler stuck his hand under the fence of a wolf enclosure at a Pennsylvania zoo. Tom Hanson reports.
RICHMOND TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Two firefighters traveling in a utility vehicle along a Pennsylvania road during a search for a missing woman were killed in a head-on crash with a car, officials said.
The two members of the Walnuttown Fire Company died after the crash with a Toyota Camry at about 6 p.m. Saturday, roughly 45 miles (72 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia. Fire Chief Jeff Buck and Assistant Fire Chief Robert Shick Jr. were heading north when they were struck by a sedan heading south on Route 222, according to the Berks County Coroner.
NBC Philadelphia reported that the utility vehicle was riding on the shoulder of Route 222 when the Camry swerved off of the road. Police told the station that a male and a female who were in the Camry when it crashed fled and were later arrested.
Video from the crash scene shows the utility vehicle on its side.
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No further details about the arrest or the search for the missing woman were immediately available Sunday.
A call and an email seeking information were made to the Fleetwood Police Department.
Autopsies on the firefighters, both residents of Fleetwood, were scheduled for Monday.
“At this time we would like to send our thoughts and prayers” to the Shick and Buck families, the Walnuttown Fire Company said in a Facebook post. “Rest easy chiefs, we got it from here.”
A toddler was lightly injured by a wolf at a Pennsylvania theme park zoo after he crawled under a fence and stuck his hand into the animal’s enclosure, officials at the zoo confirmed Sunday.The child was never inside the wolf habitat at the ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park, which is part of the Hersheypark theme park, and the officials characterized the injuries as minor without elaborating.After the “unsupervised” child reached the metal enclosure around the wolf habitat on Saturday morning and put his hand through, a wolf approached “and made contact with the child’s hand,” according to a statement from the zoo.”This type of response is consistent with natural animal behavior, and was not a sign of aggression,” the zoo said in a statement. “Our habitats are designed with multiple layers of protection, and clear signage and barriers are in place to help ensure safe viewing. Guests are expected to remain within designated areas and closely supervise children at all times.”The zoo is part of the entertainment complex in Hershey, Pennsylvania, featuring a chocolate-themed amusement park. The zoo’s website says it has three gray wolves.Hersheypark made headlines last summer when a lost boy wandering a monorail line above a crowd was rescued by a park visitor who climbed onto a building and jumped onto the rails. The child was unharmed and reunited with his family.
HERSHEY, Pa. —
A toddler was lightly injured by a wolf at a Pennsylvania theme park zoo after he crawled under a fence and stuck his hand into the animal’s enclosure, officials at the zoo confirmed Sunday.
The child was never inside the wolf habitat at the ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park, which is part of the Hersheypark theme park, and the officials characterized the injuries as minor without elaborating.
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After the “unsupervised” child reached the metal enclosure around the wolf habitat on Saturday morning and put his hand through, a wolf approached “and made contact with the child’s hand,” according to a statement from the zoo.
“This type of response is consistent with natural animal behavior, and was not a sign of aggression,” the zoo said in a statement. “Our habitats are designed with multiple layers of protection, and clear signage and barriers are in place to help ensure safe viewing. Guests are expected to remain within designated areas and closely supervise children at all times.”
The zoo is part of the entertainment complex in Hershey, Pennsylvania, featuring a chocolate-themed amusement park. The zoo’s website says it has three gray wolves.
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Hersheypark made headlines last summer when a lost boy wandering a monorail line above a crowd was rescued by a park visitor who climbed onto a building and jumped onto the rails. The child was unharmed and reunited with his family.
