1948–49 St. Francis Terriers men's basketball team

The 1948–49 St. Francis Terriers men's basketball team represented St. Francis College during the 1948–49 NCAA men's basketball season. The team was coached by Daniel Lynch, who was in his first year at the helm of the St. Francis Terriers. The team was a member of the Metropolitan New York Conference and hosted their home games at the 14th Regiment Armory.

1948–49 St. Francis Terriers men's basketball
National Catholic Invitation Tournament Finals vs. Regis, L 47–51
Conference	Metropolitan New York Conference
1948–49 record	21–12 (2–2 MTNY)
Head coach	Daniel Lynch (1st season)
Home arena	14th Regiment Armory

1948–49 Metropolitan New York Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Manhattan	5	–	1		.833			18	–	8		.692
St. John's	5	–	1		.833			15	–	9		.625
CCNY	3	–	2		.600			17	–	8		.680
NYU	3	–	2		.600			12	–	8		.600
St. Francis (NY)	2	–	2		.500			21	–	12		.636
Fordham	1	–	5		.167			9	–	16		.360
Brooklyn	0	–	6		.000			8	–	14		.364
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1948–49 Terriers became the first team in the New York City area to have a game televised, they defeated Seton Hall in its inaugural telecast on WPIX. St. Francis finished the season at 20–13 overall and 2–2 in conference play. They also participated in their second National Catholic Invitation Tournament, where they lost in the finals to Regis 47–51.

Tom Gallagher scored 496 points during the season, which was reported to be new record for a player from the New York Metropolitan Area.[1] In addition, Tom Gallagher, Tom O'Connor, and Paul Labanowski were named to the National Catholic Invitation Tournament All-Tournament Team.[1]

Roster

1948–49 St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown Tom Gallagher — — Tom O'Connor — — Paul Labanowski — — F Roy Reardon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — So G Steve Ellsworth 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) — So St. Michael's High School G James Luisi (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — So Benjamin Franklin High School East Harlem, New York Bill Paterno — — Roy Titus — — G Levi Bough 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — John Nove — — Tome Gargiulo — — Tom McNiff — — Ray Riley — — C Dick Joyce 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) —	Head coach Daniel Lynch (St. Francis '38) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

[2]

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
December 3, 1948*	American	W 66–47[3]	1–0	14th Regiment Armory  Brooklyn, NY
December 6, 1948*	at John Marshall	W 69–53[4]	2–0
December 8, 1948*	at Villanova	L 48–64[5]	2–1	(1,800[6]) Villanova, PA
December 10, 1948	Manhattan	L 52–56[7]	2–2 (0–1)	14th Regiment Armory  Brooklyn, NY
December 13, 1948*	at Paterson State Teachers	W 75–59[8]	3–2	Paterson Armory  Patterson, NJ
December 15, 1948*	Siena	W 43–33[9]	4–2	14th Regiment Armory (1,500) Brooklyn, NY
December 17, 1948*	Geneva	W 66–51[10]	5–2	14th Regiment Armory  Brooklyn, NY
December 22, 1948*	at Iona	W 62–57[11]	6–2	Westchester County Center (2,000) White Plains, NY
December 29, 1948*	at NY Athletic Club	L 62–65[12]	6–3
January 5, 1949*	at Brooklyn College	W 55–45[13]	7–3 (1–1)	Roosevelt Gymnasium (800) Brooklyn, NY
January 8, 1949*	vs. Boston College	W 63–52[14]	8–3	14th Regiment Armory  Brooklyn, NY
January 10, 1949*	at Duquesne	L 62–75[15]	8–4	Duquesne Gardens[16]  Pittsburgh, PA
January 12, 1949*	at Cincinnati	L 48–65[17]	8–5	Cincinnati Music Hall[16]  Cincinnati, OH
January 15, 1949*	vs. Adelphi	W 78–56	9–5	Garden City, NY
January 22, 1949*	at Fairfield	W 66–42[18]	10–5	Bridgeport, CT
January 26, 1949*	vs. Providence	W 73–56[19]	11–5	14th Regiment Armory  Brooklyn, NY
January 29, 1949*	vs. Brooklyn Polytech	W 61–48[20]	12–5	Brooklyn Central YMCA  Brooklyn, NY
February 1, 1949*	at Queens	W 66–51[21]	13–5	Forest Hills High School Gymnasium  Forest Hills, NY
February 4, 1949*  WPIX	vs. Seton Hall	W 69–58[22]	14–5	14th Regiment Armory  Brooklyn, NY
February 9, 1949	at Fordham	W 56–39[23]	15–5 (2–1)	Rose Hill Gymnasium (3,200) Bronx, NY
February 11, 1949*	Loyola (Baltimore)	L 64–66[24]	15–6	14th Regiment Armory  Brooklyn, NY
February 12, 1949*	vs. Rutgers (Newark)	W 55–53[25]	16–6	Newark Armory  Newark, NJ
February 16, 1949*	Iona	W 66–62 ^OT[26]	17–6	14th Regiment Armory  Brooklyn, NY
February 18, 1949*	Cincinnati	L 62–91[27]	17–7	14th Regiment Armory  Brooklyn, NY
February 22, 1949*	at St. Bonaventure	L 33–54[28]	17–8	Olean, NY
February 24, 1949*	at Canisius	L 46–51[29]	17–9	Memorial Auditorium (6,715) Buffalo, NY
February 26, 1949*	at Niagara	L 56–66	17–10	Gallagher Center  Lewiston, NY
March 2, 1949*	Creighton	W 50–43[30]	18–10	14th Regiment Armory  Brooklyn, NY
March 4, 1949	St. John's	L 43–57[31]	18–11 (2–2)	14th Regiment Armory (3,000) Brooklyn, NY
Benefit Games
March 6, 1949	Lincoln Caseys National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis	W 71–63[32]		Sunnyside Garden (2,000)
March 12, 1949	Siena	W 54–50[33]		(5,500) Albany, NY
National Catholic Invitation Tournament
March 23, 1949*	vs. St. Norbert's First Round	W 61–53[34]	19–11	Denver, CO
March 24, 1949*	vs. St. Thomas Second Round	W 59–42[35]	20–11	Denver, CO
March 25, 1949*	vs. St. Benedict's Semifinals	W 69–40[36]	21–11	Denver, CO
March 26, 1949* 11:00 pm	at Regis Finals	L 47–51[37]	21–12	Denver, CO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

National Catholic Invitation Tournament

In 1949, the Terriers were invited to participate in the first annual National Catholic Invitation Tournament, to take place in Denver, Colorado.[38][39][40] Gallagher was awarded a trophy as the Tournaments outstanding player.[41]

First Round March 23					Quarterfinals March 24					Semifinals March 25					Finals March 26
	St. Francis (NY)	61				St. Francis (NY)	59
	St. Norbert's	53			3	St. Thomas	42
3	St. Thomas	69									St. Francis (NY)	69
	St. Edward's	32									St. Benedict's	40
	St. Benedict's	60				St. Benedict's	59
	Siena	46				Dayton	55
	Dayton	53														St. Francis (NY)	47
	Loras	52													2	Regis	51
2	Regis	63			2	Regis	66
	Iona	51				Saint Francis (PA)	49
	Saint Francis (PA)	57								2	Regis	67
	Mount St. Mary's	51									Loyola (MD)	60
	Loyola (MD)	75				Loyola (MD)	53									Loyola (MD)	71
	St. Ambrose	58			4	Gonzaga	51									St. Benedict's	70
4	Gonzaga	49
	St. Bonaventure	40

NBA Draft

At the end of the season Tom Gallagher was selected with the 45th overall pick by the Baltimore Bullets.

References

1. "ST. FRANCIS PLACES 3 ON ALL-STAR FIVE". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
2. "NCAA 1948-49 Cumulative Stats" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
3. "ST. FRANCIS WINS, 66-47". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
4. "ST. FRANCIS Scores Behind Gallagher". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
5. "Villanova 64, St. Francis 48". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
6. "St. Francis Five Goes Down to Villanova Defeat". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
7. "Manhattan 56, St. Francis 52". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
8. "St. Francis Five Trips Paterson". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
9. "Terriers Cash In On Sienna's Basket Tactics". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
10. "ST. FRANCIS WINS, 66-51". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
11. "ST. FRANCIS HALTS IONA". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
12. "ST. FRANCIS FIVE LOSES". New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
13. "ST. FRANCIS DOWNS KINGSMEN BY 55-45". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
14. "Register Ninth Victory". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
15. "ST. FRANCIS BOWS, 75-62". New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
16. "Hinterlands Harbor Terror for Terriers". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
17. "St. Francis Bows, 65-48" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
18. "St. Francis Is Winner". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
19. "ST. FRANCIS WINS, 73-56". New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
20. "ST. FRANCIS ON TOP, 61-48". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
21. "ST. FRANCIS WINS, 66-51". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
22. "ST. FRANCIS ON TOP, 69-58". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
23. "ST. FRANCIS BEATS FORDHAM BY 56-39". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
24. "ST. FRANCIS LOSES, 66-64". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
25. "St. Francis in Front, 55-53". New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
26. "ST. FRANCIS DOWNS IONA". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
27. "ST. FRANCIS LOSES, 91-62". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
28. "ST. FRANCIS LOSES, 54-33". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
29. "ST. FRANCIS LOSES, 51-46". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
30. "ST. FRANCIS FIVE VICTOR". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
31. "ST. JOHN'S CHECKS ST. FRANCIS, 57-43". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
32. "Terriers Score in Benefit Tilt". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
33. "ST. FRANCIS LOSES, 54-50". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
34. "ST. FRANCIS FIVE VICTOR". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
35. "ST. FRANCIS SCORES, 59-41". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
36. "ST. FRANCIS GAINS FINAL". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
37. "ST. FRANCIS BOWS, 51-47". New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
38. "Terrier Five in Receipt of NCIT Hoop Bid". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
39. "St. Francis O.K.'s NCIT Tourney Bid". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
40. "St. Francis Five Bids for U.S. Catholic Crown". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
41. "Terrier Five Given Reception by Students". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 20 December 2019.