Flash Points:

• SFU Men's Basketball opens conference play at Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday.
• Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Stratis Arena, with a livestream on NEC Front Row.
• SFU will look to improve to 4-1 in NEC openers under Rob Krimmel.
• The Red Flash leads the NEC in scoring, averaging 75 points per game, field goal percentage, three point percentage and three pointers made per game.

SFU Notes | FDU Notes | NEC Front Row | Live Stats
 
HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team begins its Northeast Conference schedule on Thursday at Fairleigh Dickinson.  Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Stratis Arena, with a livestream on NEC Front Row.
 
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach Rob Krimmel, enters the game with a 3-8 record and will look to snap a six-game skid after an 81-58 setback at Texas A&M last Wednesday.  Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) and Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) each led SFU with 11 points, with Nebo adding seven rebounds in his return to his home state.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson, coached by Greg Herenda, is 2-9 this season and will play for the first time in almost two weeks after falling 119-68 at Cincinnati on December 17.
 
NOTES FROM TEXAS A&M
- Sophomore forward Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) had 11 points, including four dunks, and seven rebounds in his return to his home state. 
- Freshman guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) contributed 11 points, hitting four-of-six shots, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. 
- The Red Flash outscored the Aggies, 39-35, in the second half.  SFU shot 54 percent (14-of-26) in the half and hit six threes. 
- Texas A&M started the game on a 13-2 run to set the tone for the first half.
- 12 different SFU players had at least two points in the game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Saint Francis leads the all-time series, 45-42, against the Knights.  However, the Red Flash fell in three tight games last season.  SFU fell 71-59 at home on January 14, 2016, 86-82 in overtime at FDU on January 28, 2016 and 74-72 at FDU in the NEC Tournament on March 2, 2016.
 
NEC LEADERS
Entering conference play, Saint Francis owns the NEC's top offense, leading the league in scoring (75.0 ppg), field goal percentage (45.0), three pointers made per game (8.6) and three-point percentage (40.1).  A big key of that offense is SFU's league-leading 14.6 assists per game.  The Red Flash offense features a balanced attack with Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) (13.5), Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) (11.2), Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) (10.5) and Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) (10.4) all averages double-digits in scoring.  Individually, Braxton leads the NEC in rebounding, averaging 8.5 boards per game, and Nebo tops the conference in blocks, averaging 1.36 per game. 
 
NEC OPENERS
Saint Francis is 16-19 all-time in NEC openers.  The Red Flash is 3-1 in NEC openers under Rob Krimmel, including last year's 73-65 win over Wagner.
 
BRAXTON ON THE BOARDS
Braxton has enjoyed an impressive freshman campaign, which includes two NEC Rookie of the Week awards.  He has posted double-digit scoring efforts in seven games this season and has six games with eight or more rebounds.  His 19 rebounds against Stony Brook are the most by an NEC player in a game this season and the 16th-most by any Division I player.  That is also the most rebounds by an NEC freshman since Central Connecticut State's Ron Robinson on February 5, 2001 vs. Mount St. Mary's.  He is second among NCAA freshmen in rebounds per game (8.5), only 0.7 rebounds behind UCLA's TJ Leaf.  Braxton averages at least one more rebound per game than any other freshman guard in the country.
 
NEBO'S BLOCK PARTY
Sophomore forward Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) has become a force when it comes to protecting the rim.  After posting 59 blocks as a freshman, Nebo has 15 this year, with two coming at Marquette.  His 74 career blocks are already tied for fifth all-time at Saint Francis with Reggie Lewis (1898-94).  Nebo is three away from tying Lou Schmitt (1980-84) for fourth place.  Nebo leads NEC with 1.36 blocks per game.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Eleven of the eighteen players on the Saint Francis roster are freshman or sophomore eligibility.  Of the 16 players who have appeared a game this year, 12 are freshmen or sophomores.  Through 11 games, the group has combined for 721 of the team's 825 points (87.4 percent) and 1823 of 2200 minutes (82.9 percent).  Against Marquette, a freshman or sophomore scored all 65 points and the group combined for 178 minutes.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
The Red Flash has put at least four players in double figures in 6 of 11 games this season.  SFU had five in double figures in the opener at Saint Bonaventure.
 
King (13.5), Nebo (11.2), Blackmon (10.5), and Braxton (10.4) are all averaging double-figures through 11 games.
 
BOMBS AWAY
Saint Francis hit 10 threes against Marquette on Monday, the third time this season hitting 10 or more threes.  SFU hit 10 against Duquesne and 19 vs. Chatham.  The Red Flash is currently 23rd the nation with a 40.1 three-point percentage and leads the NEC, hitting 8.6 three-pointers per game.  SFU's 19 against Chatham are the sixth-most in a Division I game this year.
 
Sophomore guard Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) leads the team with 22 threes, with senior guard Georgios Angelou (Halkida, Greece/Lykeio Kanithou) right behind with 18.  Sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) and Scott Meredith (Pilot Mountain, N.C./Hargrave Military Academy (Va.)) have 17 and 14, respectively, while freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) has hit eight.
 
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
The Knights are 2-9 this season, but have played the 64th-toughest schedule in the nation, entering Thursday's matchup against Saint Francis.  Fairleigh Dickinson will be playing its first game in almost two weeks after falling 119-68 at Cincinnati on December 17.
 
Junior guard Stephan Jiggetts led the Knights with 24 points against the Bearcats.  Jiggetts hit three three's and went 11-of-12 from the free throw line.  He added five assists and a steal.  Fellow junior Darian Anderson contributed 13 points and four assists.
 
Anderson, a six-foot-one guard, averages 19.1 points per game to lead the Knights and rank second in the NEC.  He tops the NEC in free-throw percentage at 88.9 percent.  He's also second in threes, averaging 2.9 per game, and second in three-point percentage, hitting 41.6 percent of his attempts.  Jiggetts, also six-foot-one, averages 13.6 points, an NEC-best 4.9 assists per game and hits 41.3 percent of his three-point attempts.  He recorded a triple-double earlier this year against Lipscomb with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.  Sophomore forward Mike Holloway, six-foot-seven, contributes 12.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest.
 
NEXT TIME OUT…
Saint Francis continues its opening weekend of NEC play at Sacred Heart on Saturday, December 31 at 3:30 p.m.