Basketball Recap: Andrew Lindstrom and Matthew Zielinski Secure Win for St. Francis

St. Francis posted their closest victory since December 20, 2024 on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the St. Mary's Lancers 64-61. For the Red Raiders, this counts as revenge for the 73-67 victory the Lancers walked away with the last time they faced one another back in February.

Matthew Zielinski

Points

12/09/25 vs St. Mary's	21
12/05/25 @ Lake Shore	21
02/20/25 @ The Park School of Buffalo	16

Leading St. Francis to victory were Matthew Zielinski and Andrew Lindstrom. Zielinski shot 53% from the field en route to 21 points and five rebounds, while Lindstrom posted 19 points along with five boards and three steals. Zielinski's big performance that evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 16 points.

Several Lancers players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Israel Wilson, who went 5-for-10 to rack up 15 points and four steals. Wilson is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in each of the last six games he's played dating back to last season. Another player making a difference was James Engelbach-Schafer, who scored 13 points and eight boards.

St. Francis has started the season off flawlessly and has a 2-0 record to show for it. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they've averaged 68.0 points this season. As for St. Mary's, their defeat was their first of the season and makes their record 2-1.

Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming matchups. St. Francis will venture away from home to square off against Holy Trinity at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. As for St. Mary's, they will head out to face off against Clarence at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.