Saint Francis Media Notes

LORETTO, Pa. - The Saint Francis men's basketball team opens the home portion of its schedule against Westminster on Tuesday night. The Red Flash and the Titans each started with opening losses to ranked teams in their respective divisions. Saint Francis hung with No. 18 Notre Dame into the second half on Friday night, but the length and depth of the Fighting Irish contributed to an 87-56 Notre Dame victory. Westminster, an NCAA Div. III school, lost to nationally-ranked Marietta, 100-82, on Friday night in non-conference action.

SFU HOME OPENER NOTES

The Red Flash dropped its sixth consecutive season opener with its loss at Notre Dame. But in home openers, SFU is 4-2 in its past six opportunities. Saint Francis has also won two straight home openers, defeating Keystone last season, 102-69, and beating Navy in 2013 at the Cambria County War Memorial, 60-57.

NOTES FROM NOTRE DAME

• Sophomore Basil Thompson (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) finished second on the team with nine points, and all of those points came from the free throw line. Thompson was 9-for-10 from the stripe. He also finished tied for second on the team with five rebounds.
• Saint Francis forced 10 Notre Dame turnovers and won the points off turnover battle, 11-7. 
• The Saint Francis bench held its own with the Fighting Irish reserves. Notre Dame outscored the SFU bench, 26-23, but the Flash had five guys come off the bench to score. After Thompson's nine points, Patrick Wrencher (West Chester, Ohio/Archbishop Moeller) and Ifeanyi Umezurike (Uturu, Abia State, Nigeria/Montverde Academy) each had four, while Scott Meredith (Pilot Mountain, N.C./Hargrave Military Academy) and Andre Wolford (Willowick, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) each had a three-pointer. 
• Notre Dame's Demetrius Jackson scored 27 points for the Irish, becoming the first player to score at least 25 points against the Red Flash since Myles Turner scored 25 for Texas last November. 
• The teams combined for just two fast break points. Notre Dame had the only bucket. 

FRESHMAN STARTER

Freshman center Josh Nebo (Katy, Texas/Cypress Lakes) became the second true freshman in three years to earn a start on opening night for the Red Flash. He joins current junior guard Malik Harmon (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) on that list. At Notre Dame on Friday, Nebo finished tied for second on the team with five rebounds. He also recorded a steal and the team's only block in his 17 minutes of work. 

NOVEMBER SUCCESS

Saint Francis won three games in November last season for just the second time in program history. The other came in 1997-98. Last year, the Flash defeated Keystone College, Maryland Eastern Shore and Navy.

A DECEMBER TO REMEMBER

December 2014 will go down as one of the most successful non-conference months in recent memory for the Red Flash. In a three-game stretch, Saint Francis defeated Albany, Duquesne and Rutgers. Albany was on its way to a 24-9 overall record and third straight America East Conference championship. The Flash earned its first win over Duquesne since 1990, snapping Duquesne's 11-game win streak in the series. It was also Saint Francis' first win at Duquesne since 1966, breaking a 16-game streak. Three days after the Duquesne victory, the Red Flash went to Rutgers and upset the Scarlet Knights, 73-68. The win was the first ever for a Northeast Conference school against a Big Ten opponent.

POSTSEASON SUCCESS

Last season, the Red Flash became the first team in school history to reach the Northeast Conference Tournament semifinals for the second consecutive season. In each of those two seasons, however, the Flash fell to the top-seeded team. Two years ago, SFU lost at Robert Morris, 60-57. Last season, SFU fell to St. Francis Brooklyn, 62-48. Despite the loss, Saint Francis still earned a bid to the CIT. In a first-round game, the Flash hosted Bowling Green. In that contest, the lead changed hands 13 times and the score was tied on eight occasions before the Falcons left Loretto with a 67-64 victory.    

FLASH POINTS

• The Red Flash will face longtime rival Duquesne at the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, Pa., on Dec. 12. The two teams have a long history in that building, including a Red Flash win over the second-ranked Dukes in 1955. 
• Saint Francis is scheduled to play two games on national television in 2015-16. SFU will face No. 3 Maryland on Big Ten Network on Dec. 4. SFU will also face NEC rival Robert Morris on ESPNU on Feb. 11.

ABOUT WESTMINSTER

The Titans compete in NCAA Div. III in the Presidents' Athletic Conference. In its game against Marietta on Friday, a 100-82 loss, the Titans still outshot Marietta from the floor. Westminster made 48.4 percent of its shots while the Pioneers shot 45.3 percent. The Titans had four players reach double figures, led by sophomore Jarret Vrabel's 14 points. 

Westminster finished 7-20 and 3-13 in the PAC last season. The Titans won the PAC Championship in 2004 and were an NCAA Tournament qualifier in 2007.

LOOKING AHEAD

Saint Francis continues its homestand against American on Saturday before traveling to Kent State and Maryland Eastern Shore next week. Westminster plays its first home games of the season this weekend when it hosts Heidelberg and Hiram in the Buzz Ridl Classic on Friday and Saturday. The Titans open conference play on Dec. 2 when they host Chatham.

SERIES HISTORY

The Red Flash and Titans have a long and dated history, playing each other 42 times, but not since Feb. 1968. In that game, the Red Flash won a thriller, 97-96, at Westminster. Saint Francis owns a 29-13 all-time series advantage over the Titans.