GAME NOTES
LIVE AUDIO
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO (via Lehigh)
On Deck!
After taking a week off for final exams, the Saint Francis men's basketball team heads to the Christmas City to face Lehigh University in a non-conference tilt on Monday night. The game will be broadcast live on The EDGE 1400 AM?(Loretto) and The EDGE 850 AM (Johnstown), and a link to listen will be available at www.SFUathletics.com. The Red Flash, who are in the midst of a four-game losing streak, come in with a 2-6 overall record, while the Mountain Hawks are 4-5.
History Lesson
The Saint Francis radio team of Bernie Jubeck and Joe Vesnesky love their history, so we dedicate this note to the voices of the Red Flash. Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines. Graduates of Lehigh's engineering programs invented the escalator and founded Packard Motor Car Company and the companies that built the locks and lockgates of the Panama Canal. Other notable alumni include Roger Penske and Lee Iacocca. Called the Engineers until 1995, Lehigh's teams are now officially known as the Mountain Hawks. Teams prior to 1995 may be referred to by the historic title, Lehigh Engineers, after the Lehigh railroad.
Series vs. Lehigh
This will be the fourth straight year Saint Francis has faced Lehigh with the Mountain?Hawks coming out on top in each of those meetings to take a 4-3 lead in the all-time series. SFU won three of the first four meetings, beginning with an 83-69 in the series' first game in 1969-70.
Sizing Up Lehigh
Lehigh comes into Monday's contest with a 4-5 record after defeating Marist on Friday night. The Mountain Hawks are led by Patriot League Player/Rookie-of-the-Year C.J. McCollum, who is averaging 21.4 ppg and 7.6 rpg, and has a team-high 18 steals. Michael Ojo (13.7 ppg) and Gabe Knutson (12.7 ppg) also average double digits in scoring, and 10 different Lehigh players average double digits in minutes played. Mackey McKnight has a team-high 38 assists (4.2 apg). The Mountain Hawks are scoring 71.6 ppg, while opponents have tallied 70.6 ppg.
Inside The Box Score
Saint Francis had season highs with 67 field goal attempts and 43 rebounds, but came out on the short end of an 81-67 contest at Long Island on Dec. 4. Here is a closer look and some notes from the box score:
- Saint Francis shot 38.8 percent from the field, marking the fourth straight game it shot below its season average (.415).
- The Red Flash were just 3-of-18 from outside the arc (.167), and are 9-of-47(.192) over the past three games.
- SFU tied a season-high with 16 offensive rebounds, and had a season high 43 boards. It marked the second time in eight games that Saint Francis had 40-or-more rebounds.
- The Red Flash had seven steals, second highest amount in eight games this year.
- Saint Francis reached double digits (12-of-17) in free throws and free throw events for the first time in five games.
- SFU's 42 second half points are the most it has scored in any half this year.
- The Red Flash had 17 turnovers, but only four in the second half.
- Sophomore Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) earned his first start of the season at Long Island, and finished with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
- Sophomore Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) had a career-high 16 points, tied a career high with 5 rebounds, and added 3 assists and 2 steals.
- Sophomore Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) had his second career double-double with 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
Rebounding Improvement
The Red Flash have seen a significant improvment in rebounding this season. Sophomore forward Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) leads the team with 7.4 rpg, which ranks sixth in the Northeast Conference. As a team, Saint Francis ranks fifth with 35.8 offensive rpg, third with 33.1 defensive rpg, and third with a plus-2.6 rebounding margin. During the 2009-10 season, the Red Flash finished 11th in offensive rebounds (30.7 orpg), 4th in defensive rebounds (34.0 drpg), and 10th in rebounding margin (-3.3).
3-Point Struggles
Saint?Francis had 203 three-pointers (6.77 per game) during the 2009-10 season, which was good for third in program history, and ranked second in the Northeast Conference with a 36.8 three-point field goal percentage. However, SFU has struggled from long distance so far this season. The Red Flash are averaging just 4.75 field goals per game from outside the arc, and rank 11th in the league with a 26.2 three-point field goal percentage.
Growing Pains
As one of the youngest Division I teams in the country, Saint Francis may be suffering through some growing pains as head coach Don Friday is in the midst of a rebuilding process. With just 11 total years of Division I experience on the roster heading into 2010-11, most of SFU's minutes are being played by student-athletes with less than two years of experience. The five Red Flash sophomores have accounted for 61.2 percent (979 of 1600) of the minutes played so far this season. Add in the six newcomers who have seen action, including junior transfer Jon Taylor (Bowie, Md./Montgomery College-Germantown), and 77.1 percent of the minutes played are being contributed by first or second-year Division I players.
Super Sophomores
As previously mentioned, Saint Francis' five sophomores are putting in significant minutes this season. SFU has started four sophomores in five of its eight games this season, and the five second-year players have contributed 979 of 1600 possible minutes thus far. Most of the team's production is also coming from the five players. Anthony Ervin (Chesterfield, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs), Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh), Tony?Peters and Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) have scored 340 of 486 points and have pulled down 143 of 286 rebounds, accounting for 70.0 percent of the team's offense and 50.0 of its rebounds.
Protect The Ball
Saint Francis has struggled in protecting the ball this season. The Red Flash have 83 turnovers in the past four games (20.8 tpg), and have 142 on the season, second-most in the Northeast Conference. SFU's -3.5 turnover margin is 12th in the 12-team league. SFU had 17 turnovers in its last game against Long Island, but protected the ball in the second half with only four turnovers.
