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LORETTO, Pa. – At shootaround Friday, Cornell head coach Bill Courtney implored his team to put their focus on the defense. He said that if energy was put into the defensive end, the offense would start to come around. After a senior-driven 79-67 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Friday evening at DeGol Arena, Courtney looked like a bit of a prophet.

Seniors Johnathan Gray and Errick Peck each had 21 points and classmate Eitan Chemerinski chipped in 15 as Cornell shot 51 percent from the floor, outscored the Red Flash 40-14 in the paint and dictated the pace throughout to snap a three-game skid. Gray added five rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while Peck added seven rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Galal Cancer just missed double figures with nine points, four rebounds and four assists. Senior guard Miles Asafo-Adjei had six assists without a turnover and Shonn Miller had six rebounds in just 17 minutes while battling foul trouble.

The Red Flash had five players score double figures, with Earl Brown posting an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double. Greg Brown scored 16 points, Stephon Wyatt notched 14 points, Umar Shannon had 13 and Ollie Jackson scored 12. Saint Francis hit 10 3-pointers to keep the home team in the game.

The first two minutes of the game set the tone for the game as the Big Red quickly established a lead and dictated the pace.

After the Red Flash won the opening tap, Johnathan Gray picked off a pass and went coast-to-coast for a layup 16 seconds in, a lead it would never relinquish. Shonn Miller stole the ensuing inbounds pass, and though Cornell couldn't convert, the Big Red went down the other end and Eitan Chemerinski drew a charge. That was the first 42 seconds of the game.

Chemerinski took a post feed, made a quick spin move and finished for a layup, then was part of a trap that forced a five-second violation. Another fastbreak layup by the Big Red, again with Chemerinski on the finishing end, and it was 6-2 Cornell less than two minutes in.

Saint Francis was able to settle down and Shannon scored five quick ones for the Red Flash to get back within 8-7 at the first media timeout. The home team hung around until Cornell embarked on a 15-2 run to turn a 14-12 edge into a 29-14 lead with eight minutes to play as the home team went 4:36 without a basket. It was the Errick Peck show for a stretch. The senior assisted on consecutive baskets, including a highlight reel play. Peck tapped out a long rebound to himself, went around his back to avoid a defender and found a cutting Cressler to make it 12-7. Peck then hit a jumper and found two more open shooters from the high post, then ended the run with a conventional three-point play and a fastbreak finish after a Galal Cancer steal.

Leading 41-34 at the half, Cornell didn't run away with the win. Saint Francis remained pesky, making several runs after halftime and got within four points four times and within three points on two other occasions, but the Big Red had an answer each time. Most of those answers were provided by Gray. He hit a 3-pointer, then was fouled shooting another and canned all three free-throw attempts. Peck answered two other mini-runs with buckets, including an offensive putback, and another with a free throw trip.

The Big Red pulled back away late, outscoring the home team 12-6 in the final six minutes and hitting 5-of-6 free throws in the final 71 seconds to ice the game away.

The Big Red returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 30 when it closes out the 2012 portion of the schedule at Binghamton at 2 p.m. at the Events Center in Vestal, N.Y. The game will be televised locally by Time Warner Cable.