GAME NOTES

On Deck!
Saint Francis returns to the Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament for the second straight year and are in search of its first tourney win since 1995. The Red Flash earned the No. 8 seed in the tournament, and will battle No. 1 Long Island at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center. SFU holds the distinction of being one of just two NEC teams to knock off LIU this season with an 86-71 win in Loretto on Jan. 22. The Red Flash and head coach Don Friday will have to buck history to advance, as a #8 seed as yet to oust a top seed in the tournament. The two schools have met twice in the postseason. Saint Francis won an opening round game in 1994 by a 103-79 score. LIU returned the favor with a 76-67 win over the Red Flash in the 2004 quarterfinals. Thursday's game can be heard live on The EDGE?1400 AM (Loretto, Pa.), and a link to listen will be available at www.myedgeradio.com.
 
On The Horizon If Saint Francis can pull off an upset of NEC regular season champion Long Island, it would advance to Sunday's semifinal round, which will be played at either Noon or 2 p.m. at the site of the highest remaining seed.
 
Sizing Up The Blackbirds Long Island (24-5, 16-2 NEC) is the NEC's hottest team entering the postseason. The Blackbirds are riding a ten-game win streak and have won 18 of their last 19 outings. Now in his ninth year, head coach Jim Ferry led the Blackbirds to a 24-win regular season, the highest total for the program since 1941-42 when legendary Clair Bee was at the helm. LIU's 16 conference victories also established a new school record, and its 13 road wins are the most in the country this season. Likewise, the 24 wins mark the highest victory total among the 19 New York City metro area Division I programs. The Blackbirds, who are looking to capture their third NEC Tournament championship and first since 1997, are 11-2 at home.
 
Inside The Box Score Saint Francis dropped its regular season finale in a 64-55 defeat against visiting Mount St. Mary's on Saturday night . Here is an in-depth look and some notes from the box score: - Saint Francis forced Mount St. Mary's into 18 turnovers, a season high for an opponent. - SFU's 16 field goals tied a season low, and marked the fourth time this season. - The Red Flash made just two three-point field goals, fewest in the past 14 games. - Sophomore Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) had career highs with 13 FTM and 14 FTA, both of which are season highs for a Red Flash player, and tied a career high with 3 steals. -  Shannon finished with 20 (or more) points for the ninth times in his last 13 games. - Senior Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep) had a season-high 7 points. - Sophomore Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) had a career-high 5 assists, and moved into sole possession of third place on SFU's single-season blocks list (37) - Junior Jon Taylor (Bowie, Md./Montgomery College-Germantown) had career highs with 5 FTM and 8 FTA.
 
NEC Tournament Info The Red Flash have qualified for the Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Championships for the second straight season, and 20th time in 30 years. Quarterfinal games will be held Thursday, Mar. 3, at the site of the highest seeds. NEC Quarterfinals - Thurs. Mar. 3 (Time TBA) NEC Semifinals - Sun. Mar. 6 (12 or 2 p.m.) NEC Championship - Wed. Mar. 9 (7 p.m. on ESPN2)
 
Tournament Overview For the seventh straight year, the NEC Men's Basketball Tournament will consist of an eight-team playoff format with all games played at the home of the higher seed. After the quarterfinals, the teams will be reseeded so the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals. NEC Tournament quarterfinal play commences on Thursday, March 3, followed by the semifinal round on Sunday, March 6. For the first time, both men's semifinal games will be televised. The championship game, to be televised by ESPN2, will be contested on Wednesday, March 9 at 7:00 pm.
 
The NEC's return to a playoff format in 2005 came after an eight-year absence that saw the league's annual postseason tournament contested at one campus site (1999), at a municipal arena (2000-01) and at a single campus site for the quarterfinals and semifinals, followed by the highest remaining seed hosting the championship game (1998, 2002-04). The conference had previously employed a high-seed hosting format from 1991-97, though teams were not reseeded after the quarterfinals as the tournament is currently constructed.
 
Ticket Information Prices throughout the quarterfinals and semifinals are $10 for adults, $5 for students with college I.D. and children between the ages of 5 and 18 years of age. Prices for the championship game will be $20 for adults, $10 for students with college I.D., and children between the ages of 5 and 18 years of age.
 
Red Flash in the Playoffs The Saint Francis men's basketball team will be making its 20th appearance in the Northeast Conference?Championships when it plays No. 1 Long Island on Thursday. The Red Flash are 7-18 all-time in the tournament, and are looking for their first league title since 1991. Here is a look at SFU's all-time NEC Championship results: Mar. 4, 2010: #6 Saint Francis 50, at #3 Mount St. Mary's 65 Mar. 3, 2005: #5 Saint Francis 67, at #4 Long Island 76 Mar. 6, 2004: #5 Saint Francis 43, at #4 Robert Morris 58 Mar. 3, 2003: #5 Saint Francis 57, #4 Quinnipiac 75 (at Wagner) Mar. 3, 2000: #6 Saint Francis 52, #3 Robert Morris 72 (at Trenton) Feb. 26, 1998: #4 Saint Francis 50, #5 MSM 69 (at CCSU) Feb. 28, 1997: #6 Saint Francis 68, at #3 Monmouth 75 Feb. 28, 1996: #5 Saint Francis 70, at #4 Rider 84 Mar. 1, 1995: #8 Saint Francis 62, at #1 Rider 63 Feb. 27, 1995: at #8 Saint Francis 95, #9 St. Francis-NY 76 Mar. 2, 1994: #8 Saint Francis 60, at #1 Rider 74 Feb. 28, 1994: at #8 Saint Francis 103, #9 Long Island 79 Mar. 2, 1993: at #7 Saint Francis 80, #10 Monmouth 91 Mar. 5, 1992: #8 Saint Francis 66, at #1 Robert Morris 83 Mar. 3, 1992: at #8 Saint Francis 85, #9 Mount St. Mary's 79 Mar. 2, 1991: at #1 Saint Francis 97, #2 Fairleigh Dickinson 82 Feb. 28, 1991: at #1 Saint Francis 96, #4 St. Francis-NY 70 Feb. 27, 1990: at #4 Saint Francis 62, #5 Fairleigh Dickinson 65 Mar. 3, 1989: #6 Saint Francis 64, #2 FDU 74 (at RMU) Feb. 28, 1989: #6 Saint Francis 95, at #3 Monmouth 89 Mar. 4, 1987:?#6 Saint Francis 69, at #3 Loyola 77 Mar. 6, 1986: #5 Saint Francis 83, #4 Wagner 100 (at RMU) Mar. 2, 1985: #5 Saint Francis 71, at #4 Loyola 84 Mar. 10, 1983: #2S Saint Francis 94, at #1S Robert Morris 106 Mar. 8, 1983: at #2S Saint Francis 75, #3S Baltimore 68
 
Tournament Results Breakdown: Overall Record: 7-18 Home Record: 6-2 Road Record: 1-11 Neutral Record: 0-5
 Youth Movement As one of the youngest Division I teams in the country, Saint Francis head coach Don Friday is in the midst of a rebuilding process. With just 11 total years of Division I experience on the roster entering the 2010-11 season, most of SFU's minutes have been played by student-athletes with less than two years of experience. The five Red Flash sophomores have accounted for 62.8 percent (3660 of 5825) of the minutes played this season. Add in the six newcomers who have seen action, including junior transfer Jon Taylor (Bowie, Md./Montgomery College-Germantown), and 85.2 percent (4962 of 5825) of the minutes played are 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 23 of its 29 games this season, and the five second-year players have contributed 3660 of 5825 possible minutes (62.8 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 1317 of 1882 points and have pulled down 487 of 913 rebounds, accounting for 70.0 percent of the team's offense and 53.3 percent of its rebounds.
 
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 on Feb. 19. SFU had 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.