GAME NOTES
LIVE AUDIO
On Deck!
Saint Francis will put its four game winning streak on the line, while also trying to snap a 15-game road losing streak (dating back to last season), when it visits Sacred Heart at 7 p.m. on Thursday night. The Red Flash are coming off an impressive home stand in which they won four games by double digits for the first time since the beginning of the 1977-78 season. They had never won four straight NEC games by double digits. The game can be heard on The EDGE?1400 AM (Loretto, Pa.) and The EDGE 850 AM (Johnstown, Pa.), and a link to listen will be available at www.myedgeradio.com.
On The Horizon
Saint Francis will close out a quick two-game road swing when it visits Quinnipiac at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Bobcats were the coaches' pick to win the Northeast Conferece this season.
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. Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County. It is situated along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. Fairfield is a town of many neighborhoods, two of which—Southport and Greenfield Hill—are notably affluent. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 57,340. In July 2006, Money Magazine ranked Fairfield the ninth "best place to live" in the United States, and the best place to live in the Northeast. This is primarily due to its affluence, low crime rate with only three homicides in the last five years, excellent public school system, suburban character, scenic location on the Long Island Sound, and proximity to New York City. The grounding of a barge with two crewmen on Penfield Reef in Fairfield during a gale led to the first civilian helicopter hoist rescue in history, on November 29, 1945. The helicopter flew from the nearby Sikorsky Aircraft plant in Bridgeport. Fairfield is also the home of the corporate headquarters of GE, General Electric, one of the world's largest companies.
Series vs. Sacred Heart
The Red Flash defeated Sacred Heart 73-68 on Feb. 20 of last year to clinch their first Northeast Conference playoff berth in five years. However, the Pioneers have won seven of the last eight meetings to take a 9-8 lead in the series, which dates back to the 1999-2000 season.
Sizing Up The Pioneers
Sacred Heart enters Thursday's contest with an 8-11 overall record, and 3-5 mark in the Northeast Conference. Sacred Heart is coming off a 79-76 victory over Wagner on Saturday, but has lost three of its last four games. The Pioneers rank sixth in the league in scoring (64.7 ppg) and scoring defense (68.2 ppg). They feature the NEC's third-leading scorer in Shane Gibson, who is averaging 17.2 ppg and 4.1 rpg and has 27 steals. Gibson has made a league-high 54 three-pointers and ranks sixth in 3-point FG percentage (.415) and fourth in free throw percentage (.852). Jerrell Thompson averages 13.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.3 apg and is second in the league with 1.95 spg (37 total steals).
Inside The Box Score
Saint Francis jumped out to a big first half lead on its way to defeating first place Long Island, 86-71, on Saturday night. Here is an in-depth look and some notes from the box score:
- SFU scored a season-high 86 points, and won its fourth straight game by double digits. The last time the Red Flash won four straight games by double digits was the first four contests of the 1977-78 season. Saint Francis had never won four straight league games by double digits.
- The Red Flash won their sixth straight home NEC?game (dating back to last season).
- SFU had season highs with 31 free throws and 35 free throw attempts (.886).
- Saint Francis had a season-high 10 blocks, most since recording 10 vs. Morgan State on Nov. 14, 2007.
- The Red Flash won for the first time this season when their opponent scored 70 or more points.
- SFU?made 14-of-17 free throws in the final 5:00 to keep LIU from mounting a comeback.
- The Red Flash improved to 3-0 on the season when they have four players in double digit scoring.
- Saint Francis tied a season high with 32 points off the bench.
- Sophomore Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) was named the Choice Hotels Northeast Conference Co-Player of the Week after averaging 22.0 ppg and 6.5 rpg, while shooting 65.0 percent from the floor. He tied a career high with 24 points against LIU and added 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Shannon made 6-of-10 field goal attempts, and had career highs with 10 FT's and 11 FTA.
- Sophomore Anthony Ervin (Chesterfield, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) had 14 points, tied a career high with 8 rebounds, and added 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block off the bench.
- Sophomore Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) had 11 points, 6 assists and 3 steals. He completed the four-game home stand with a 27-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Sophomore Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) had a career high 4 blocks to go with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Home Sweet Home
The Red Flash have a .727 winning percentage at DeGol Arena over their last 22 games (16-6 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 11 of its last 13 at home. Saint Francis will play host to Central Connecticut State on Feb. 3 in the 499th 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.
One Point 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.
Double Digit Wins
The Red Flash have won four straight games by double digits, marking the first time they have accomplished that in Northeast Conference play. SFU last won four straight games by 10-or-more points during the 1977-78 season when it defeated FDU-Madison, SUNY-Buffalo, Catholic and Point Park. Saint Francis has not won five straight by double digits since the 1968-69 season.
Inside The Winning Streak
During Saint Francis' current four-game winning streak, sophomore Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) is averaging 20.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 2.8 apg. He is 26-of-45 (.578) from the floor, 11-of-23 (.478) from long distance, and 20-of-23 (.870) from the stripe. The Red Flash entered the four-game stretch without reaching 70 points on the season, but have produced the team's four highest scoring outputs (70, 69, 75 and 86). Likewise, Saint Francis has held its opponents to its three lowest scoring outputs on the 2010-11 season (54, 55 and 56). Against LIU, the Red Flash won for the first time this season when an opponent scored 70-plus points. Over its last four games, Saint Francis is 96-of-197 (.487) from the field, 28-of-64 (.438) from outside the arc, and 80-of-97 (.825) from the foul line. Six SFU players are averaging 7.7 ppg or more during the streak. Sophomore point guard Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) has a 27-to-6 assist-to-turnover ratio during the past four games. Saint Francis has not won five straight games since the 1993-94 season.
Charity Work
The Red Flash led the Northeast Conference in free throw percentage (.732) a year ago with the sixth-best single-season performance in program history. Head coach Don Friday's squad is at it again. After a season-high 31-of-35 performance in Saturday's win over Long Island, Saint Francis ranks third in the NEC (and 26th in the nation) with a 74.8 percent success rate at the line this season. SFU?is a shooting a league-best 78.4 percent from the stripe in NEC games.
Home vs. Away
Saint Francis' performance at home vs. on the road have been well documented. The Red Flash are 6-1 at DeGol Arena this season, but 0-12 on the road. Here is a closer look at SFU's performance in home vs. away games. Saint Francis has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 121-to-82 (1.5) at DeGol Arena, but 132-to-226 (0.6) on the road. The Red Flash have a .482 field goal percentage at home, and .380 on the road. SFU has made 44-of-113 three-point attempts (.389) in Loretto, but just 51-of-192 (.266) away from home.
Stokes Center NEC Success
DeGol Arena in the Maurice Stokes Athletics Center has always been a tough place for opponents to play. The Red Flash have won six straight league games, dating back to last season, at DeGol Arena. It marks the team's longest home winning streak over NEC opponents since SFU won eight straight from the end of the 2003-04 season to the beginning of the 2004-05 campaign.
Longest Home Winning Streaks Against NEC Foes:
10: 1990-91
8: 2003-04 (4) into 2004-05 (4)
7: 1997-98 (1) into 1998-99 (6)
6: 2009-10 (2) into 2010-11 (4)
6: 1995-96
6: 1989-90
Block Party
Saint Francis recorded a season-high 10 blocks in its Jan. 22 victory over first-place Long Island, marking the team's highest total since rejecting 10 shots against Morgan State on Nov. 14, 2007. Additionally, sophomore forward Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) had a career-high 4 blocks in the game against the Blackbirds.
