Saint Francis Media Notes
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LORETTO, Pa. - The Saint Francis men's basketball team returns home after a 2-1 road trip to face its western Pennsylvania rival Robert Morris on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The game is the annual Coaches vs. Cancer/Suits and Sneakers initiative that supports the American Cancer Society. Coaches from both teams will wear sneakers with special laces along with their traditional suits. 

The Red Flash participated in Fairleigh Dickinson's Suits and Sneakers game on Thursday night, and it went down as one of the more entertaining games of the 2015-16 for Saint Francis. The Red Flash overcame a 13-point first-half deficit to force overtime as the teams stayed within one possession of one another for all but 30 seconds of the second half and overtime. The Knights were able to score last as it went on to an 86-82 win. 

NOTES FROM FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON

• The game was the first in overtime for SFU this season. 
• SFU's last overtime game came against Robert Morris in last year's season finale, a 71-70 RMU victory.
• Saint Francis had its three-game road winning streak snapped. SFU was looking for its fourth straight road win for the first time since 1980-81.
• Malik Harmon (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) scored 20 points to lead the Red Flash with his new season high. 
• Greg Brown (Odenton, Md./Archbishop Spalding) recorded seven assists, a new season high and just one short of his career high.
• Josh Nebo (Katy, Texas/Cypress Lakes) set a new high with his 11 rebounds. The freshman has three double-digit rebounding games this season, including two in his last three games.
• Ben Millaud-Meunier (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier) scored 16 points for the Red Flash in two short stretches. In the first half, he scored eight points in 1:07. In the second half, he scored eight more points in a 1:01 stretch. 

SERIES HISTORY

While Robert Morris owns a 49-29 advantage in the series history, the teams have played some exciting games in recent years. Two seasons ago, RMU edged the Red Flash, 60-57, in the NEC Tournament semifinals. Last year, Saint Francis ended a 14-game losing streak to the Colonials with a 66-59 victory in Loretto. In the final game of the regular season, Robert Morris erased an eight-point deficit in overtime to defeat the Flash, 71-70. 

COACHES VS. CANCER/SUITS AND SNEAKERS

It's Suits and Sneakers Awareness Week, a Coaches vs. Cancer initiative that supports the American Cancer Society. Along with the coaching staffs from both teams wearing sneakers with their suits on Saturday, the sneakers will have special laces in memory of Lacey Holsworth, an 8-year-old basketball fan who died of cancer. These sparkling yellow laces, pictured above, are available at all Shoe Carnival stores and online at shoecarnival.com/lacey. The American Cancer Society will receive 85 percent of the proceeds, and Princess Lacey's Legacy will receive the other 15 percent. The funds marked for the American Cancer Society are earmarked entirely for pediatric cancer. For more information, visit coachesvscancer.org and princesslaceyslegacy.com. 

OVERTIME NOTES

The Red Flash's overtime game against Fairleigh Dickinson was the first of the year for SFU. In head coach Rob Krimmel's three-plus seasons as head coach, he has yet to win an overtime game. SFU is 0-5 in such games. Saint Francis did respond following its overtime loss to Robert Morris last season by defeating Mount St. Mary's in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals in the team's next game.

BLACKMON NEC PLAYER AND ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

The NEC announced Monday that freshman guard Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) has been named both the NEC Player of the Week and the NEC Rookie of the Week.

Blackmon was in can't-miss mode last week, shooting an astounding 89.5 percent from the field en-route to averaging 19.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in just 49 minutes off the bench. In doing so, Blackmon becomes just the fourth freshman in league history to be named NEC Player of the Week, joining Sacred Heart's Cane Broome (12/8/14), CCSU's Corsley Edwards (11/30/98) and Wagner's Miladin Mutavdzic (2/2/92).

In Saturday's 79-64 victory over Central Connecticut, Blackmon was a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor, finishing with 20 points and seven boards. The nine makes without a miss tied for the best single-game performance in the NEC this season against a Division I opponent. Blackmon ranks third among NEC freshmen with 10.6 points per game. He is fifth in the league in field goal percentage and is the only true guard in the top-10, converting at a 57.3 percent clip.

EPIC COMEBACK

The Red Flash found itself trailing by 19 points in the first half at Bryant last Thursday and hit the locker room trailing, 45-28. SFU was being outshot 59.3 percent to 31 percent. Coming into the game, the Flash was also 0-9 this season when trailing at halftime. That script flipped directly on its head in the second half. Saint Francis shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the second half, including 6-for-10 from three-point range. Bryant shot just 30.4 percent from the floor and 0-for-8 from three-point range in the second. The Flash outscored Bryant, 43-20, in the second half, including 16 points from Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte). The 17-point halftime comeback tied for the fourth largest in the NCAA up to that point in the season.

LOOKING AHEAD

Saint Francis hosts Bryant and Central Connecticut next weekend. Saturday's game marks the end of a four-game road trip for Robert Morris. The Colonials head home for three games. The third of those comes against the Red Flash on Feb. 11 on ESPNU.