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On Deck!
Saint Francis will put its stellar home record (5-1) on the line when the nation's leader in road wins comes to DeGol Arena on Saturday night for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Long Island enters with a 14-4 overall record, and 6-1 first-place Northeast Conference mark, and leads the nation with eight road victories (8-2). However, the Red Flash are 5-1 at DeGol Arena this season, and 15-6 over their past 21 games on home court. 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 return to an all-too familiar place next week when it hits the road for a two-game road swing through Connecticut. The Red Flash will look for their first road win (0-12) of the year when it visits Sacred Heart at 7 p.m. on Thursday. SFU will then take on Quinnipiac at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
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. Typically, we reserve this space for information on Saint Francis opponents, but we are taking a break to find out more about our own history here in Loretto. Loretto was founded in 1799 by Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin as the first English-speaking Roman Catholic settlement west of the Allegheny Front. He named it after the town of Loreto, Italy, site of a Catholic place of pilgrimage. Saint Francis College was established in 1847 by six Franciscan Friars from Ireland who were given land in Loretto by Bishop Michael O'Connor to establish a school. The University was one of the first Catholic Universities in the United States and the first Franciscan college in the nation. Although it originally only admitted males, it became one of the first Catholic Universities to become co-educational.
Series vs. Long Island
Long Island defeated the Red Flash 81-67 back on Dec. 4 in Brooklyn, but SFU has a slight 31-30 edge in the all-time series, which dates back to 1963-64. Saint Francis earned a 74-73 overtime victory over the Blackbirds last season at DeGol Arena. However, LIU has wins in five of the last six meetings between the schools.
Sizing Up The Blackbirds
Long Island leads the nation with eight road wins, and brings and overall record of 14-4 in Saturday's contest. The first-place Blackbirds are 6-1 in the NEC after an impressive 83-67 at Robert Morris on Thursday night. LIU features a balanced scoring attack that is the best in the Northeast Conference, averaging 82.0 ppg. It's plus-9.9 scoring margin and .469 field goal percentage also lead the league. Jamal Olasewere leads the team with 12.4 ppg, while shooting 50.3 percent from the field. He also averages 6.3 rpg, and is second on the squad with 24 steals and 12 blocks. Kyle Johnson averages 11.2 ppg and 5.7 rpg, C.J. Garner averages 10.9 ppg and 3.4 apg, and Julian Boyd averages 10.9 ppg and a team-best 7.9 rpg.
Inside The Box Score
Saint Francis used 13-0 and 16-0 second half runs to earn its third straight victory, 75-56, vs. St. Francis-NY on Thursday night at DeGol Arena. Here is an in-depth look and some notes from the box score:
- SFU shot over 50.0 percent from the floor for the second straight game, and just the third time this season. The Red Flash connected on 26-of-50 (.520) field goals for its second-best shooting performance of the season.
- Saint Francis tied a season-high with 9 steals.
- The Red Flash scored a season-high 75 points, including a season-best 49 points in the second half.
- SFU got 30 points off the bench for the third time this season, and first since tallying 30 at Lafayette (11/17). The Red Flash had a season-high 32 points off the bench in a win over Colgate (11/15).
- Saint Francis won its second straight game when trailing at halftime (31-26), and are 2-11 when trailing at the half this season.
- Freshman Scott Eatherton (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) entered the game with 25 career points, but went 5-of-7 from the field and 5-of-6 from the stripe for a career-high 15 points to go with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.
- Sophomore Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) had season highs with 8 assists and 3 steals, and pitched in 5 points and 3 rebounds. During SFU's three-game winning streak, Johnson has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 21-to-4.
- Junior Jon Taylor (Bowie, Md./Montgomery College-Germantown) tied a career high with 12 points, and added 5 rebounds and 1 steal.
- Sophomore Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half, and pulled down a career-high 7 boards.
Home Sweet Home
The Red Flash have a .714 winning percentage at DeGol Arena over their last 21 games (15-6 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 10 of its last 12 at home. Saint Francis will play host to Long Island on Saturday in the 498th 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 307-190 record (.618) 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 four games and five of the last six. 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 four games, he is averaging 7.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, and 1.5 spg. He has made 9-of-11 field goal attempts (.818), and is 4-for-5 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 13 games. Jukic is currently 14th in the Northeast Conference with a .780 free throw percentage. SFU ranks third in the league (.731) as a team.
Inside The Winning Streak
During Saint Francis' current three-game winning streak, sophomore Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) is averaging 19.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 3.0 apg. He is 20-of-35 (.571) from the floor, 9-of-19 (.474) from long distance, and 10-of-12 (.833) from the stripe. The Red Flash entered the three-game stretch without reaching 70 points on the season, but have produced the team's three highest scoring outputs on the season (70, 69 and 75). Likewise, Saint Francis has held its opponents to its three lowest scoring outputs on the 2010-11 season (54, 55 and 56). Over their last three games, the Red Flash are 71-of-146 (.486) from the field, 23-of-50 (.460) from outside the arc, and 49-of-62 (.790) from the foul line. Seven SFU players are averaging 5.7 ppg or more during the streak. Sophomore point guard Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) has a 21-to-4 assist-to-turnover ratio during the past three games.
