Jeriah Coleman
With the Saint Francis frontcourt facing foul trouble, the Red Flash turned to a 7-foot Alaskan for help.
Anchorage’s Jeriah Coleman responded in a big way, contributing big plays on both ends to inspire a first-half comeback that led to a 93-67 blowout of Bucknell.
Bucknell actually led 25-21 midway through the first half when Coleman entered the game for the first time.
His impact was instant. Thirty-eight seconds after he checked in, he scored a layup. Ninety seconds later he hit a free throw that gave Saint Francis the lead for good at 28-27.
A few minutes later he had a dunk and the route was on.
Coleman, of West High fame, set career highs with seven points and seven rebounds in just eight minutes of playing time. He also blocked a shot and finished with a +17 plus-minus rating.
“Coach told me just the other day to stay with defense and be focused on our defense,” Coleman told The Tribune-Democrat newspaper. “That’s what I need to work on. One of the things that was in my head was trying to protect the rim,”
Coleman had played a total of 17 minutes this season before being called on to rescue Saint Francis in the biggest moment of his first 19 games at the NCAA Division I level. He scored as many points against Bucknell as he did in 14 games last season as a freshman.