GAME NOTES
On Deck!
With six straight losses heading into Saturday night's contest at Fairleigh Dickinson, Saint Francis has put itself in a must-win situation while looking to improve its positioning for a possible Northeast Conference playoff spot. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Rothman Center. The Red Flash have dropped to 7-19 overall, and 5-10 in the Northeast Conference, while the Knights have lost 10 straight games to fall to 4-22 overall and 2-13 in the league. The game can be heard live 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
The Red Flash return to DeGol Arena for their final two home games of the 2010-11 season next weekend. Saint Francis will play host to Wagner on Thursday night before taking on Mount St. Mary's on Saturday.
Playoff Picture
With three regular season games remaining, Saint Francis would qualify for the Northeast Conference playoffs if they started today, but there isn't very much room for error. SFU is in a tie for ninth place with Monmouth, but eighth-place Bryant cannot qualify for the league tournament until 2012-13. The Red Flash and Hawks are tied for the eighth and final playoff spot, but Saint Francis owns the ie-breaker based on its victory over first-place Long Island. SFU also owns any tie-breaker against ninth-place Sacred Heart due to its victory on Jan. 27.
Series vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
The Red Flash earned a 69-55 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson back on Jan. 15, at DeGol Arena. However, the Knights own a 40-35 advantage in the series that dates back to the 1954-55 season, Maurice Stokes' final season in Loretto. Saint Francis has won three of the last four meetings, but has lost 10 straight meetings in Teaneck, N.J., dating back to its last win on Jan. 21, 1999 (84-73).
Sizing Up The Knights
Fairleigh Dickinson ranks 10th in the Northeast Conference in scoring (63.7 ppg), and is ninth in scoring defense (allowing 72.5 ppg). The Knights have lost 10 straight games to fall out of the Northeast Conference playoff picture, but can play spoiler on ?Senior Night. FDU's four seniors - Mike Scott, Kamil Svrdlik, Terence Grier and John Galvin - are the four leading scorers on the team. Scott averages a team-best 14.5 ppg and has team-highs with 52 three-pointers, 116 assists and 37 steals. Svrdlik is second in scoring (12.6 ppg), and leads the team in rebounds (193, 7.4 rpg) and blocks (40), Grier is third in scoring (11.3 ppg) and Galvin is fourth (7.3 ppg).
Inside The Box Score
Saint Francis dropped its sixth straight game on Thursday night at Monmouth, and fell into an eighth-place tie for the final NEC playoff spot with the Hawks. Here is an in-depth look and some notes from the box score:
- Saint Francis scored just 51 points, its second-lowest scoring total on the season.
- The Red Flash lost by single digits (57-51, -6) for the fourth time in their last five games.
- SFU's 16 field goals tied a season low (at St. Francis-NY and at Mount St. Mary's).
- Monmouth's eight free throws made tied a season low for an opponent, while its 11 free throw attempts were a season low.
- Junior Jon Taylor (Bowie, Md./Montgomery College-Germantown) had a career-high 3 blocks to go with 4 points, 3 rebounds and 1 steal.
- Sophomore Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) led the Red Flash in scoring for the 15th time this season, and 10th time in 11 games. He finished with 13 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist.
- Sophomore Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) had 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist.
- Sophomore Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) recorded his 200th career assist and finished with 5 ponts, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
Shannon is Shining
Sophomore Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) is developing into one of the top scorers in the Northeast Conference. He is putting together a month to remember in averaging 20.5 ppg and 3.1 rpg over his last 10 games. Shannon is shooting 51.2 percent from the field (62-of-121), 47.0 percent from long distance (31-of-66) and 82.0 percent from the stripe (50-of-61) during that time. He has reached 20 points in seven of the 10 games, including a career-high 30 points at Sacred Heart. Shannon's 59 three-pointers this season are the most for a Red Flash player since Raahsaan Benton had 70 in 2005-06.
Growing Pains
As one of the youngest Division I teams in the country, Saint Francis is 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 62.5 percent (3265 of 5225) 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 84.6 percent (4421 of 5225) 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 first/second-year players in 20 of its 26 games this season, and the five second-year players have contributed 3265 of 5225 possible minutes (62.5 percent) 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 1156 of 1666 points and have pulled down 432 of 821 rebounds, accounting for 69.4 percent of the team's offense and 52.6 percent of its rebounds.
Home Sweet Home
Despite a three-game home losing streak, the Red Flash have a .640 winning percentage at DeGol Arena over their last 25 games (16-9 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 CCSU on Feb. 3, but has won 11 of its last 16 at home. Saint Francis will play host to Wagner in its next home basketball game on Feb. 24.
Moving On Up
Sophomore forward Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) has played in 56 career games, and has already moved into Saint Francis' all-time leaders in blocks. The Cleveland, Ohio native rejected 26 shots in 30 games as a freshman, and already has 32 blocks in 26 games this season, which ranks sixth in the NEC (1.23 bpg). Felder's 58 career blocks moved into a tie for 10th with Bassirou Dieng (2006-08), and his 32 blocks this season are tied for seventh for a single season at SFU. Here is a look at other former Red Flash players within reach for Felder this season:
Saint Francis All-Time Blocks Leaders
1. Melvin Scott (1996-01) 137
6. Jason Osborne (2001-05) 71
7. Tom Bennetch (1987-91) 61
8. Jelani Lawrence (2005-07) 59
8. Mike Fink (1989-92) 59
10. Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) (2009-present) 58
10. Bassirou Dieng (2006-08) 58
12. Jeff Hamilton (1981-85) 52
Saint Francis Single-Season Blocks Leaders
1. Melvin Scott (2000-01) 70
2. Jerry Mack (1986-87) 43
3. Jelani Lawrence (2005-06) 36
4. Jerry Mack (1985-86) 35
4. Emmanuel Adekunle (1997-98) 35
6. Reggie Lewis (1992-93) 33
7. Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) (2010-11) 32
7. Lou Schmitt (1982-83) 32
9. Emmanuel Adekunle (1995-96) 30
10. Bassirou Dieng (2007-08) 29
10. Emmanuel Adekunle (1996-97) 29
12. Bassirou Dieng (2006-07) 28
12. Jason Osborne (2004-05) 28
12. Jason Osborne (2003-04) 28
One Point Wins
With their 70-69 heartbreaking buzzer-beater loss against Bryant on Feb. 5, the Red Flash dropped to 19-11 all-time in one-point games at DeGol Arena. Saint Francis has a 308-194 record (.614) all-time at DeGol Arena, which opened in 1972-73.
Double Digit Wins
The Red Flash won four straight home games (Jan. 13 - Jan. 22) by double digits, marking the first time they 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.
