GAME NOTES

On Deck!
Saint Francis snapped a six-game skid with a 77-65 victory at Fairleigh Dickinson last Saturday night. The Red Flash hope to take that momentum into another pivotal showdown with Wagner. SFU suffered a crushing 81-53 loss against the Seahawks back on Jan. 8, and will look for revenge in its second-to-last home game of the season. Thursday night's game has major playoff complications as Wagner is playing for a better seeding, and the Red Flash are looking to clinch a spot in the tournament. SFU is 8-19 overall and 6-10 in the Northeast Conference, and the Seahawks are 13-14 overall and 9-7 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. Additionally, a live pay-per-view video stream is available via Red Flash All-Access at www.SFUathletics.com.

On The Horizon
Saint Francis closes out the regular season on Saturday when Mount St. Mary's visits DeGol Arena on Senior Day. Seniors Mislav Jukic (Zagreb, Crotia/Life Center Acadamy) and Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep) will be honored prior to the game for their years of service to Red Flash athletics. Tipoff is a 7 p.m.

Playoff Picture
With one week to play, only Fairleigh Dickinson has been eliminated from playoff contention as three teams are engaged in a duel for the final chances at playing postseason ball in March. With a 6-10 record, Saint Francis controls its own destiny and can qualify for the tourney with wins over Wagner and Mount St. Mary's this weekend. The Red Flash can also qualify with a single victory, coupled with either a Monmouth loss or a Bryant win. (The Bulldogs aren't eligible for the tournament, but do factor into tie-breakers involving three or more teams). Saint Francis can even get in with a pair of losses if neither Monmouth or Sacred Heart wins both its games this weekend.

Series vs. Wagner
Wagner earned an 81-53 win over the Red Flash back on Jan. 8, but Saint Francis owns a 31-27 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1956-57. SFU has lost two straight against the Seahawks, and eight of the last nine. however, the Red Flash defeated Wagner 69-42 on Dec. 3 during the 2009-10 season.

Sizing Up The Seahawks
Wagner enters Thursday's game in sole possession of fifth place, but can finish as high as second or as low as seventh in the Northeast Conference. The Seahawks are 13-14 overall and 9-7 in the league. They rank fourth in the NEC in scoring (67.7 ppg) and eighth in scoring defense (69.9). Wagner leads the NEC in free throw percentage (.776) and 3-point field goal percentage (.371). The Seahawks have made 178 three-pointers as a team, and 175 of them have come from four players - Latif Rivers (55), Tyler Murray (53), Chris Martin (43) and Dany Mundweiler (24). Murray leads the team in scoring (16.8 ppg) and steals (35), and is second in assists (95). Rivers is second on the team in scoring (14.4 ppg) and third in assists (80), and Martin is third in scoring (9.4 ppg) and first in assists (101).

Inside The Box Score
Saint Francis earned a 77-65 victory at Fairleigh Dickinson last Saturday night to stay in contention for a Northeast Conference playoff spot. Here is an in-depth look and some notes from the box score:
- Saint Francis snapped a 14-game losing streak in New Jersey (at Monmouth and Fairleigh Dickinson). The Red Flash last won a game in New Jersey on Feb. 27, 2003, in a 76-68 victory at Monmouth.
- The Red Flash snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Knights in Teaneck.
- SFU's 77-point scoring output was the fourth highest of the season.
- The Red Flash had a season-best 54.5 percent (24-of-44) effort from the field.
- Saint Francis made 11 three-point field goals, second-most on the season.
- SFU shot 55.0 percent (11-of-20) from outside the arc. Coincidentally, SFU's two best 3-point field goal percentage games this season have come against FDU (58.3%, 7-of-12 back on Jan. 15).
- The Red Flash had a season-low one steal.

Garden State Grumpiness
The Garden State has not been good to the Red Flash, who snapped a combined 14-game losing streak in the state of New Jersey with their 77-65 win at Fairleigh Dickinson. SFU last won a game on Jersey soil on Feb. 27, 2003 with a 76-68 win at Monmouth. Saint Francis also snapped a 10-game skid in Teaneck, defeating the Knights at Stratus Arena for the first time since Jan. 21, 1999. Since the turn of the century, the Red Flash have a combined 2-19 record against Fairleigh Dickinson (1-10) and Monmouth (1-9) in Jersey.

Shannon is Shining
Sophomore Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) continues to develop into one of the top scorers in the Northeast Conference. He is putting together a 2011 to remember in averaging 21.1 ppg and 3.3 rpg over his last 11 games. Shannon is shooting 52.6 percent from the field (70-of-133), 50.0 percent from long distance (38-of-76) and 81.8 percent from the stripe (54-of-66) during that time. He has reached 20 points in eight of the 11 games, including a career-high 30 points at Sacred Heart. Shannon's 66 three-pointers this season are tied for 10th most for a single-season in program history, and are the most for a Red Flash player since Raahsaan Benton had 70 in 2005-06. Shannon made a career-high seven 3-pointers in Saturday's victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. The seven 3-pointers are fourth most for a single-game in SFU men's basketball history, just two shy of a school record.

Draining Threes
The Red Flash sunk a season-high 14 three-pointers on Feb. 9, at Robert Morris. It marked the third highest 3-point field goals made in a single-game in program history, and the most since SFU made 15 on Jan. 21, 1992 vs. Mount St. Mary's. Saint Francis set a school record with 19 three-point field goals on Feb. 25, 1989 vs. Long Island. The Red Flash made 11 three-point field goals in Saturday night's win at Fairleigh Dickinson.

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.

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 62.7 percent (3399 of 5425) 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 84.7 percent (4592 of 5425) 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 21 of its 27 games this season, and the five second-year players have contributed 3399 of 5425 possible minutes (62.7 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 1213 of 1743 points and have pulled down 448 of 846 rebounds, accounting for 70.0 percent of the team's offense and 53.0 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.

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.

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. SFU ranks third in the NEC with a 72.6 percent success rate at the line this season.

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. SFU is seventh in the NEC with 3.07 bpg this season.

Moving On Up
Sophomore forward Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) has played in 57 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 has 33 blocks in 27 games this season, which ranks seventh in the NEC (1.22 bpg). Felder's 59 career blocks moved into a tie for eighth with Jelani Lawrence (2005-07) and Mike Fink (1989-92) and his 33 blocks this season are tied for sixth 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. Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) (2009-present)    59
8. Jelani Lawrence (2005-07)    59
8. Mike Fink (1989-92)    59
11. 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. Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) (2010-11)    33
6. Reggie Lewis (1992-93)    33
8. Lou Schmitt (1982-83)    32

Inside The Winning Streak
During Saint Francis' recent five-game winning streak, sophomore Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) averaged 22.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 2.6 apg. He was 34-of-61 (.557) from the floor, 16-of-32 (.500) from long distance, and 29-of-35 (.829) from the stripe. The Red Flash entered the five-game stretch without reaching 70 points on the season, but produced the team's five highest scoring outputs (70, 69, 75, 86 and 88). Likewise, Saint Francis 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 the five games, Saint Francis was 129-of-263 (.490) from the field, 36-of-84 (.429) from outside the arc, and 94-of-120 (.783) from the foul line. Six SFU players averaged 8.2 ppg or more during the streak. Sophomore point guard Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) had a 33-to-10 assist-to-turnover ratio during the streak. Saint Francis last won five straight games during the 1993-94 season. SFU has not won six straight games since the 1990-91 NCAA Tournament season.

Pointing in the Right Direction
Sophomore point guard Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) has taken his game to the next level this season. As a freshman, he averaged 3.2 ppg, 2.9 apg and 1.2 spg. However, he is third on the team in scoring (8.1 ppg) and leads the squad with 118 assists and 43 steals. Johnson ranks fifth in the NEC in steals (1.59 spg) and fourth in assists (4.37 apg). His 43 steals are the most for a Red Flash player since Erick Wills had 43 in 2003-04.