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Saint Francis makes the short trip north to University Park to open the 2012-13 campaign at Penn State.  Friday's match up marks the 12th all-time between the Red Flash and Nittany Lions.

The game will not only mark the opening of the Rob Krimmel era of Red Flash basketball, but also a homecoming for the State College native.

Krimmel's brother, Ken, played basketball at Penn State from 1998-2002 and his father Bob, the Director of Athletics at SFU since 2005, spent 32 years in the Penn State Athletic Department as a coach and adminstrator. His mother, Sharon (“Chickie”), recently retired after a 35-year career in the PSU Department of Kinesiology.

Penn State, which finished 12-20 last season, is led by All-Big Ten first team selection Tim Frazier (18 pts/6 a).  The Nittany Lions won ten of their games at home in 2011-12; SFU posted a 1-15 mark on the road.


LONG WAY TO THE TOP FOR COACH KRIM
For Rob Krimmel, Nov. 5's debut as head coach of the Red Flash was 17 years in the making.  In 1996 Krimmel first laced up for then-Saint Francis College led by head coach Tom McConnell.  Krimmel finished up his playing career in 1999-2000 under first-year head coach Bobby Jones and served on Jones' staff for the remaining eight years of his tenure.  Krimmel was retained as an assistant by Don Friday when he took the helm in 2008-09 and was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2010-11 season.

Krimmel led the Red Flash on a temporary basis once before – standing in for Jones in an 80-61 loss to Central Conn. State on Jan. 4, 2007.  Jones was hospitalized for 'observation of stroke-like symptoms' following a loss at American two days earlier.


KRIMMEL NAMES CAPTAINS
Senior guard Anthony Ervin (Chesterfield, Va./Fork Union Military Academy), senior forward Tony Peters (Roselle, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) and red-shirt junior guard Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) were named team captains for the 2012-12 Saint Francis University men's basketball season, head coach Rob Krimmel announced in June.


SHANNON'S BACK
When the Red Flash takes the court in tonight's season-opener at Penn State, it will have been 363 days since redshirt junior Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) has seen game action.  After suffering a season-ending injury in the opening game of the 2011-12 campaign, Shannon will look to resume his standout Red Flash career this winter.  The 5-11 Garden State product was SFU's leading scorer two seasons ago as a sophomore, averaging 15.8 points per contest en route to All-Northeast Conference second team honors.   In his only outing last season, Shannon tossed in a team-high 26 points in a close loss to Virginia Commonwealth. A 39 percent shooter, he has also dished out 91 career assists.


VETERANS APPRECIATION EVENT ON TAP
In an effort to promote veteran's awareness, Saint Francis will be hosting a Veteran's Appreciation Day on Dec. 8 in its match against Lehigh.  The Red Flash will be wearing special camouflage uniforms for the occasion in honor of the veterans who have fought for our freedom, tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.  Veterans will be admitted to the game free of charge.


THE RED FLASH ON TV
In 2012-13, five Red Flash games will air on the small screen, three of which will be available to a national audience.  Nov. 9's season-opener at Penn State will be shown live on BTN.com and on a tape delay basis on the Big Ten Network on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 1:30 p.m.  SFU's Dec. 1 game at American will be aired regionally by Comcast and Nov. 24's game at Notre Dame will air live on ESPN3.  Two NEC games will also find its way into home across the country, starting with Jan. 19's contest with Sacred Heart.  The game will air live on Fox College Sports and ESPN3 and on Root Sports Pittsburgh on Sunday Jan. 20 at 9 p.m.  On Wed., Feb. 6 Saint Francis' 7 p.m. contest at Robert Morris will air live on Root Sports Pittsburgh and ESPN3 and on a delay on Fox College Sports.


PRESEASON POLL
According to the 2012-13 Northeast Conference Preseason Poll, there's no place to go but up for the Red Flash men's basketball team.  SFU was picked to finish 12th in the 12-team NEC, despite the return of 2011 All-NEC second-teamer Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City).  The Flash finished 5-13 in league play a season ago, winding up in 10th place.  Two-time defending champion LIU Brooklyn was picked first in the annual NEC preseason poll, which was announced on Oct. 23 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.  LIU, which claimed nine of the possible 12 first place votes, defeated Robert Morris in each of the past two NEC championship games.


LAST TIME OUT :: Saint Francis U 85, PSU Altoona 38 (Exh.)
A strong shooting performance propelled the Saint Francis U men's basketball team to an 85-38 win over Penn State Altoona in a home exhibition match.

The Red Flash shot 30-60 (50%) from the field, led by sophomore guard Ollie Jackson (Dallas, Texas/Pinkston ) who dropped 15 points.
Sophomore forward Earl Brown (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and scored 11 points. Sophomore guard Dominique Major (Woodbridge, Va./Forest Park) hit four three-pointers and finished with 14 points.

Sophomore guard Stephon Whyatt (Jersey City, N.J./St. Peter's Prep) contributed with 12 points and knocked down six of eight from the charity stripe. Freshman guard Ben Millaud-Meunier (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier) also reached double-figures with 11 points.


AMERICAN TIP TIME MOVED UP
Tip off for the December 1 game at American University has been moved up two hours to accommodate a regional telecast by Comcast.  The game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m.  Air times will be announced in the coming days.