The NEC coaches tabbed St. Francis to finish eight in the league when they made their preseason picks. That's exactly where the Terriers ended up.

The problem was there were three other teams that also finished eighth, and the Terriers were on the outside looking in when the league tournament started.

They almost made it, winning at rival LIU and winning at home against Fairleigh Dickinson. But when LIU got quick revenge with a 15-point "road" win, St. Francis was done for the year.

Losing streaks did this team in. The Terriers lost nine in a row through the holidays, won two straight to get back into league play, and then lost nine in a row again, the second and third of those in overtime in what might actually be the two painful defeats that would turn out to spell the end.

Those two January wins, by the way, were at Sacred Heart and Fairleigh Dickinson, and there was also a big comeback at Wagner that fell short.

It all added up to a 7-22 final record, 4-14 in the conference. Brian Nash dropped to 26-61 in three years on the job at the Brooklyn school.

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