Chris Moncrief and Daemar Kelly grew up fully invested in March Madness and are unsurprisingly familiar with the names.
No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic’s run to the Final Four in 2023, No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s trip to the Elite Eight in 2022 and No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast’s Sweet 16 quest in 2013 are among the most recent instances of NCAA Division I mid-major programs capturing the nation’s imagination during the annual “Big Dance” surrounding the men’s basketball national championship tournament.
Virginia Commonwealth advancing to the Final Four in 2011, George Mason also doing so in 2006 and Loyola Marymount running to the Elite Eight in 1990 — all as long-shot No. 11 seeds — also fit the bill as March Madness Cinderella stories.
Now, Moncrief, a Turtle Creek native, and Kelly, a Penn Hills product, might just be poised to help add another name to that list — Saint Francis (Pa.).
The pair of guards each provided late-game heroics to seal an upset victory for the Red Flash Tuesday night against top-seeded Central Connecticut State in the Northeast Conference tournament championship game.
The win sealed the second automatic NCAA tournament bid in the history of the small private university located in Loretto, Cambria County.
“Growing up always watching March Madness with my father, even my mother, we always talked about being on this stage and all that,” Kelly said. “Now I have an opportunity to be on this platform. It’s truly just a once in a lifetime type of experience.”
It will be the first time Saint Francis has qualified for the NCAA tournament since 1991.
Moncrief and Kelly were both born in 2004.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” Kelly said. “We’re focused on the next opportunity. We’re trying to do something even more bigger and get an upset, have a Cinderella story.”
Saint Francis (16-17) will have its seeding, in addition to its opening-round opponent and playing site, revealed when the NCAA unfurls its 68-team men’s tournament bracket at 6 p.m. Sunday on CBS.
“It’s a dream for probably all of us on our team,” Moncrief said. “You want to be playing in March and just being in that situation is just a blessing. As a team, we are just so grateful to have this opportunity presented to us. We’re not going to take it for granted at all.”
Seeded third in the NEC tournament, the Red Flash opened postseason play with a 58-55 victory against No. 6 Wagner in Loretto last week.
Saint Francis then traveled to Brooklyn, N.Y., to unseat No. 2 Long Island University, 71-68, in the semifinals Saturday before upsetting Central Connecticut State, 46-43, in New Britain, Conn., in the title game.
“It’s just like in our conference tournament, nobody expected us to make it this far,” Kelly said. “It can be the same in the March Madness tournament. We’ve just really got to take it one game at a time. Don’t look ahead. Don’t look at the path. Just live in the moment. That’s why we have a really good chance to upset a very good team.”
With just 17.5 seconds remaining and the NEC championship game tied at 43-43, Kelly took control. He took an inbound pass and nearly drove the length of the court before hitting a midrange pull-up, fade-away jumper to give the Red Flash the lead over Central Connecticut State for good.
“The shot that Daemar took was a shot that he works on every day in our skill work,” Saint Francis coach Rob Krimmel said. “It’s a shot that he takes in games, and it wasn’t something new to him. When he elevated to shoot it, it was something that I’ve seen him make before.”
Kelly said he never doubted the shot would fall.
“Our coach always has told us about how he would let us play within the final seconds of the game,” Kelly said. “He gave us the trust and belief in our ability to take over. Once I got it and I realized the clock was ticking, I just knew this game was going to be my game to take the game-winning shot.
“When I released it,” he added, “it felt good coming out of my hands.”
The Blue Devils then had a chance to tie the game with just nine seconds remaining on the clock, but Moncrief stole the basketball on the ensuing possession, was fouled and sealed the victory by converting 1 of 2 attempts from the free-throw line.
“To come back down and Chris to get the steal to seal it off, it was two Pittsburgh guys helping to seal the deal for us,” Krimmel said. “It was a frantic 17 seconds there.”
Moncrief said he was pleased to get the chance to end the game on the defensive end of the court.
“With me, I’ve been growing up on defense my whole life,” he said. “Defense is something that gets my game going and impacts my other teammates as well. Me being focused on the defensive end for our team can really help.”
Kelly and Moncrief have been helping Saint Francis plenty after joining the program through the NCAA transfer portal.
After helping to lead Penn Hills to a WPIAL championship as a senior in 2023, Kelly transitioned to Division I Quinnipiac, where he competed in a reserve role for his one season as part of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference program a year ago.
Kelly has started every game in his first season with the Red Flash. The 6-foot-5, 195-pound sophomore has averaged 8.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game this season with 56 assists, 26 steals and 18 blocks.
“He’s great in the locker room,” Krimmel said. “He’s got a great sense of humor, and his basketball IQ is really high, both offensively and defensively. He understands how to compete with a level head. His versatility on both ends makes my job a lot easier.”
Likewise, Moncrief transferred to Saint Francis after graduating from the Kiski School in Saltsburg, Indiana County, in 2022 and then playing one season at Division I Evansville University in Evansville, Ind.
Moncrief averaged 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in his first season with the Red Flash a year ago but has blossomed over the past couple of months.
The 6-foot-6, 190-pound junior is averaging 6.1 points and 1.2 rebounds per game this season. Since being named a full-time starter Feb. 6, Moncrief has averaged 10.3 points per game over Saint Francis’ past 10 games.
The Red Flash are 8-2 over that span.
“A big part of that is Chris’ maturation, his growth as a basketball player,” Krimmel said. “A lot like Daemar, he’s got a high basketball IQ, and he impacts the game on both ends.”
Krimmel said he expects that to continue in the NCAA tournament.
Now in his 13th season at Saint Francis, Krimmel said he expects the Red Flash to be seeded by the NCAA selection committee as one of the First Four teams, which will compete in play-in games March 18-19 at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
“We expect to be in Dayton,” Krimmel said. “When you look at all the bracketologists and the people that project it, they have us in Dayton. If that’s where they send us, great, that’s where we started the year. We opened at Dayton, so at least it will be a place our guys are familiar with.
“At this point, the excitement of getting to the NCAA tournament is, send us where you want, we’ll compete and be ready to go for the next 40 minutes.”
Moncrief could not agree more.
“Just roll out the ball,” Moncrief said. “Wherever it is, it doesn’t matter. It could be back in Loretto, Dayton, wherever. Just roll out the ball, and we’ll be ready to play.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.