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On Deck!
Saint Francis will bring a two-game winning streak into a pivotal Northeast Conference rematch when St. Francis-NY visits DeGol Arena at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The Red Flash are coming off a weekend sweep of Monmouth and Fairleigh Dickinson to get back into the Northeast Conference playoff hunt. The Terriers, who are 8-9 overall and 3-3 in the NEC, have lost four of their last five games. SFU is 4-13 overall, and 2-4 in the league. St. Francis-NY handed the Red Flash a 57-44 defeat back on Dec. 2 in Brooklyn. The game can be heard on The EDGE?1400 AM (Loretto, Pa.), and a link to listen will be available at www.myedgeradio.com. A live video/audio feed of the game will also be available via Red Flash All-Access at www.SFUathletics.com.
On The Horizon
Saint Francis will wrap up a four-game home stand when Northeast Conference-leading Long Island visits DeGol Arena at 7 p.m. on Saturday. It is another rematch from an early December meeting in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Blackbirds enter a Thursday night meeting against Robert Morris with a 13-4 overall record, and 5-1 mark in the NEC. They have won seven straight to gain control of first place, and defeated the Red Flash 81-67 back on Dec. 4.
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. St. Francis College was founded by Franciscan Brothers in 1859 as St. Francis Academy, the first private school in the diocese of Brooklyn. St. Francis Academy, dedicated to the education of the newly formed Brooklyn diocese's Catholic boys, started in a building on Baltic Street. The Academy expanded and grew to encompass six row houses, with 150 feet of frontage and a former Methodist Church on Baltic Street. In 1868, the academy was incorporated and in 1884 it was chartered: the trustees of the Academy received permission from the state legislature to “establish a Literary College” and to confer diplomas, honors, and degrees. St. Francis Academy became St. Francis College, and in June 1885 bestowed its first Bachelor of Arts degree.
Series vs. St. Francis-NY
Saint Francis University and St. Francis-NY College first met on the hardwood in 1929-30, and will meet for the 68th time on Thursday night at DeGol Arena. The Terriers held SFU to a season-low 44 points to hand the Red Flash a 57-44 defeat on Dec. 2 in Brooklyn, N.Y. However, Saint Francis owns a 37-30 in the all-time series, and is 6-3 in the last nine meetings.
Sizing Up The Terriers
St. Francis-NY enters Thursday's game having lost four of its last five games to fall to 8-9 overall and 3-3 in the Northeast Conference. The Terriers have the NEC's seventh-ranked offense (64.9 ppg), but will bring the league's stingiest defense (65.1 ppg) into DeGol Arena. St. Francis-NY features two of the NEC's top scorers in Ricky Cadell (8th at 15.5 ppg) and Akeem Bennett (9th at 14.9 ppg), and also has Akeem Johnson (26th at 10.7 ppg). Johnson is the team's top rebounder (9th at 6.1 rpg) and ranks third in the league in field goal percentage (.538), while Bennett leads the NEC in steals (2.69 spg).
Inside The Box Score
Saint Francis earned back-to-back victories for the first time this season when it defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 69-55, on Saturday night at DeGol Arena. Here is an in-depth look and some notes from the box score:
- The Red Flash shot 50.0 percent (23-of-46) from the field, the team's second-best performance of the 2010-11 season.
- SFU had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio (14 assists, 9 turnovers) for the second straight game, and for the fifth time this season.
- Saint Francis used a 17-0 run from the 6:29 mark of the second half until the 1:32 mark, turning a four-point deficit into a 13-point lead.
- After shooting just 6-of-36 (.167) from outside the arc in three previous games, the Red Flash have made 17-of-35 (.486) over the past two games.
- SFU scored a season-best 43 points in the second half, and held FDU to 22 points in the same period.
- Sophomore Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) tied career-highs with 24 points and 5 rebounds, and also tied a career-high with 8 field goals. Shannon also went over the 400-point mark (409) for his career.
- Freshman Kameron Ritter tied a career high with 11 points, and added a career high 3 steals.
Home Sweet Home
The Red Flash have a .700 winning percentage at DeGol Arena over their last 20 games (14-6 record) dating back to a 78-59 season-ending victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Feb. 28, 2009. SFU had a four game home winning streak snapped against Drexel (Dec. 18), but has won nine of its last 11 at home. Saint Francis will play host to St. Francis-NY on Thursday in the 497th men's game to be played at DeGol Arena. The Red Flash will play host to Bryant in the facility's 500th men's basketball game on Feb. 5, 2011.
Single Digit Wins
After defeating Bucknell, 68-67, by one point on Nov. 20, 2010, the Red Flash improved to 19-10 all-time in one-point games at DeGol Arena. Saint Francis has a 306-190 record (.617) overall all-time at DeGol Arena, which opened in 1972-73.
Ritter Making Impact
Freshman Kameron Ritter has earned increased playing time over the past month, including starts in the past three games and four of the last five. His energy has given a boost to the SFU defense, and he has shown an ability to put points on the board. Ritter established a career-high with 11 points in a televised game at Wagner (1/8/11), and tied that career-high with 11 points last Saturday against Fairleigh Dickinson. Over the past three games, he is averaging 8.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, and 2.0 spg. He has made 8-of-9 field goal attempts (.889), and is 4-for-4 from outside the arc.
Road Warriors
Saint Francis played 12 of its first 15 games on the road, where it has an 0-12 record. SFU played 10 of 11 away from DeGol Arena from Nov. 24 until Jan. 13. The Red Flash were 2-14 on the road last season, and are 2-38 since a win at Morgan State on Dec. 1, 2008.
Charity Work
Senior Mislav Jukic (Zagreb, Crotia/Life Center Acadamy) started the season 6-of-14 at the charity stripe, but has since caught fire. He has made 20 of his last 21 attempts (.952), and is 40-of-45 (.889) from the free throw line over his past 12 games. Jukic is currently tied for 13th (with teammate Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City)) in the Northeast Conference with a .780 free throw percentage. SFU ranks third in the league (.725) as a team.
Felder Finding Consistency
Sophomore Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) has been more consistent in his offense over the past 10 games, averaging a team-high 12.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 1.0 bpg. He is shooting 43.5 percent from the field (47-of-108) and 39.5 percent (15-of-38) during that span. Felder's 15 three-point field goals is tied for the team lead over the last 10 games, and he has a team-best six straight double-digit scoring games.
Where's The Offense?
The Red Flash have struggled to find balanced scoring thus far in 2010-11. They are 10th in the 12-team Northeast Conference in scoring (60.1 ppg), and hit the 70-point plateau for the first time this season last Thursday night against Monmouth. Saint Francis went six straight games without exceeding 60-or-more points on offense before its win over Monmouth. The Red Flash had four players score in double figures for the first time this season against the Hawks. Perhaps a sign of improving offense is that Saint Francis followed up its season-high 70-point performance against Monmouth with a 69-55 win over Fairleigh Dickinson last Saturday.
