Saint Francis Media Notes
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LORETTO, Pa. - An old rivalry in a familiar setting is renewed on Saturday afternoon when the Saint Francis men's basketball team hosts the Duquesne Dukes at the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, Pa. The game tips off at 1 p.m. 

The game against the Dukes holds all types of historical significance with this being the 11th meeting at the War Memorial between the two schools and the first in 45 seasons. The teams first played there in 1954 when Duquesne, ranked No. 2 by the Associated Press, defeated Saint Francis. The next year, with Duquesne again ranked second in the country, Maurice Stokes scored 24 points to lead the Frankies to an 82-72 upset victory. The teams last played in Johnstown in 1971.

Saint Francis defeated Duquesne, 67-52, last season at the Palumbo Center. 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.

The game against the Dukes marks the second in the "modern era" for the Red Flash at the War Memorial. Two years ago, Saint Francis defeated Navy, 60-57, on Veterans' Day.

ABOUT DUQUESNE

The Dukes enter Saturday's game against Saint Francis with a 7-2 record, the program's best start since starting 9-2 in the 1979-80 season. Duquesne bounced back from a 96-75 loss against Pittsburgh in The City Game to defeat UMBC, 89-70, on Tuesday night at Palumbo Center. The Dukes had four men reach double figures in the win over UMBC. L.G. Gill led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Jeremiah Jones (20 points), Derrick Colter (19) and Micah Mason (13) all finished in double figures. 

Colter (19.2 ppg), Mason (15.8) and Gill (10.1) all average in double figures for the Dukes, while Jones (9.9) and Eric James (9.1) round out a balanced scoring attack. The Dukes are averaging 85.7 points per game, on pace to be one of the most prolific scoring seasons in school history.   

LOOKING AHEAD

The Red Flash hits the road for its final two games before Christmas. SFU plays at Binghamton on Tuesday and at Albany next Saturday. Following Saint Francis, Duquesne returns home for two games prior to Christmas. The Dukes host South Carolina State on Wednesday before playing against Robert Morris next Saturday.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday's game continues one of the Red Flash's oldest rivalries. This marks the 76th meeting between the two schools, third most for the Red Flash against any single opponent. SFU has played Fairleigh Dickinson 84 times and Robert Morris 78 times. 

This marks the 11th time that the two teams have played at the Cambria County War Memorial, and the first in 45 years. Duquesne has won six of the first 10 games played in Johnstown. The teams played in Johnstown once per year from 1954-62 and played for the 10th time in Jan. 1971.  

NOTES FROM MARYLAND

• The Flash held a rebounding advantage for the majority of the game, only losing the lead in the final minutes of the game. The Terps ended up with a 34-31 advantage in rebounding.
• Maryland became the first team to score 90 points or more on the Red Flash in nearly four years. LIU Brooklyn defeated the Flash, 97-76, on Jan. 28, 2012.
• Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, Ohio/Greenview) recorded his second double-double of the season and the seventh of his career, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
• Saint Francis' 29 percent from the floor was the first time it shot 30 percent or worse since shooting 30 percent at Cincinnati in the 2014-15 season opener. 
• Ben Millaud-Meunier (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier) scored 13 points to lead the Flash for his fourth double-digit scoring performance of the season. He had five double-digit scoring games all of last season.
• The Flash lost for the first time this season when hitting at least eight three pointers. SFU went 8-for-27 from beyond the arc and fell to 2-1 in such games. 

WINNING BY DOUBLE-DIGITS AT HOME

Saint Francis plays its fourth home game of the season when it hosts Duquesne at the War Memorial on Saturday. In SFU's first three home games, the Red Flash has won by double digits. The last time SFU won that many at home by double digits was during the 2010-11 season when it won four consecutive. The Flash won NEC games against Monmouth (70-54), Fairleigh Dickinson (69-55), St. Francis Brooklyn (75-56) and LIU Brooklyn (86-71) in Jan. 2011. A double-digit win against the Dukes would match that streak.

CLOSE GAME, ANYONE?

The Red Flash has played seven games this season, and all seven have been decided by double digits.  It's a pretty rare feat in school history. The Red Flash has tied the third longest season-opening streak of double-digit games with both 1995-96, going 2-5, and 1931-32 (4-3). The 1924-25 team played its first eight games in double digits, going 7-1. The school record for double-digit results to open a season belongs to the 1919-20 team with nine. It won all nine games and also won the 10th, a 28-21 decision over a team of Ex-Collegians. 

BROWN "EFFECTIVE" FROM THE FLOOR

At the beginning of the week, the Northeast Conference released its leaders in effective field goal percentage. eFG% is based on a player's field goal percentage, but adjusts for the fact that three-point field goals are worth 50 percent more than two-point field goals. Saint Francis senior guard Greg Brown (Odenton, Md./Archbishop Spalding) is currently fifth in the league in this category with a 54.1 eFG%. 

RED FLASH STATISTICAL LEADERS

The Red Flash currently leads the league in fewest fouls (134) and fewest turnovers (90), while also being the top team in the league in three-point field goal defense (31.4 percent). SFU is also second in the NEC and 39th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game, averaging 14.1 offensive boards per game.

KRIMMEL INTO 10th PLACE ON WINS LIST

Head coach Rob Krimmel moved into 10th place on the Saint Francis wins list with his 33rd career victory over American. Krimmel passed his predecessor, Don Friday, to move into the top-10. Friday coached the Flash from 2008-12 and finished with 32 victories. Krimmel is now eight wins behind Kevin Porter for ninth place with his 34 victories. Porter came back to coach the Flash from 1983-87 following an outstanding playing career in Loretto. He had 42 wins in his four years.

BACK-TO-BACK BLOWOUT WINS

With SFU's 20-point victory over American on Nov. 21, the Red Flash won consecutive games by 20-plus points for the first time since the first two games of the 2006-07 season. Saint Francis opened that season with wins over Lock Haven (94-60) and Saint Bonaventure (76-54). SFU defeated Westminster, 103-72, before beating American, 68-48.

FLASH JUST SHORT ON NOVEMBER WINS MARK

Prior to last season, the Red Flash had won three games in the month of November just one time, in 1997-98. Saint Francis matched that feat in 2014-15 with wins over Keystone, UMES and Navy. SFU won two of its first three games this November, but losses at Kent State and UMES left the Flash one win shy of tying the 1997-98 and 2014-15 teams for the best Novembers in school history.

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.    

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.

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 faced No. 2 Maryland on Big Ten Network on Dec. 4. SFU will also play NEC rival Robert Morris on ESPNU on Feb. 11.