BROOKLYN - The Saint Francis Red Flash will play its last three games of the regular season against teams currently ahead of it in the NEC standings. Up first is a Saturday afternoon date with first-place St. Francis Brooklyn. Tip on Saturday is scheduled for 4 p.m.

The Red Flash is currently tied for fifth place with LIU Brooklyn while the Terriers have clinched the top spot in the upcoming NEC tournament.

The Flash nearly overcame an 11-point second half deficit at Central Connecticut on Thursday night. SFU trailed by six points with under 30 seconds to play but managed to get off a three-point attempt that would have tied the score at the buzzer. The Blue Devils held on for a 53-50 victory.

 THREE THINGS TO KNOW

• Saturday's game is a rematch of a buzzer beater win for the Terriers last month in Loretto, 60-59.
• The Flash fell to 5-10 in games it makes less than eight three pointers. SFU was 7-for-26 at CCSU.
• The team's 50 points at CCSU is the second fewest for the team in NEC play. It had 40 at the Mount.

SHUTTING OUT THE BENCH

• The Red Flash did a great job of shutting down the CCSU bench in two games against the Blue Devils in the past week. Last Thursday in Loretto, SFU held the CCSU reserves to just three points. This week, SFU shut out the CCSU bench. The Flash got 12 points off the bench, including five from Stephon Whyatt (Jersey City, N.J./St. Peter's Prep) in the final four minutes as the Flash looked for the comeback.

DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORING

• Earl Brown (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) had his consecutive double-double games streaked stopped at five games, but he still managed to pour in 13 points while grabbing five rebounds at CCSU. He has scored at least 10 points in eight straight games. Ollie Jackson (Dallas, Texas/Pinkston ) also hit double figures with 11 points on Thursday. He averaged 14.5 points in two games against the Blue Devils this season.

WINNING REGULAR SEASON WITH NEXT VICTORY

• The Red Flash's next win will give the team its first winning regular season in 10 years. The 2004-05 Saint Francis team finished 15-13 and 10-8 in conference play. Saint Francis will need two wins in its final three conference games to clinch a winning NEC record. The 2004-05 season was also the last winning NEC record for the team.

LONG RANGE STATS

• The Flash relied heavily on three-point shots at CCSU, especially in the first half. SFU just couldn't get those shots to fall. The Flash took 29 shots in the first half, and 18 of them came from three-point range. SFU was just 5-for-18, however, from beyond the arc in the first half. The team finished 7-for-26 for the game.

STRANGE BUT TRUE

• Saint Francis has lost seven straight games in the game following an overtime game. The last win in a game following an overtime game came on Jan. 26, 2008, against Central Connecticut. The Flash won a triple overtime thriller, 92-84, against St. Francis Brooklyn two days prior.