Flash Points:

• SFU men's basketball meets Robert Morris on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Charles L. Sewall Center.
• The game will be broadcast on MSG Network+ and Fox College Sports.
• Both teams are 2-2 in NEC play entering Thursday's contest.

SFU Notes | RMU Notes | /MSG Network+/Fox College Sports/Root Sports(Tape Delay) | Live Stats
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team meets in-state rival Robert Morris on Thursday for a 6 p.m. tipoff at the Charles L. Sewall Center.  The NEC matchup will be broadcast on MSG Network+ and Fox College Sports, with a tape delay broadcast on Root Sports Pittsburgh.
 
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach Rob Krimmel, enters the game with a 5-10 record after splitting its NEC contests last weekend.  SFU earned an 81-56 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday, but fell 83-70 against LIU Brooklyn on Saturday.
 
Robert Morris, coached by Andy Toole, is 6-11 overall and 2-2 in the NEC.  The Colonials also split two games last weekend.  Robert Morris dropped a 65-54 decision against LIU Brooklyn on Thursday, but bounced back for a 62-58 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday.
 
NOTES FROM LIU BROOKLYN
- Sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) led four SFU players in double-figures with 19 points, hitting six-of-nine shots, and six rebounds.  Blackmon has scored in double-digits in three straight games.
- Fellow sophomore Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) had 14 points and three rebounds, while making 6-of-10 shots, and scoring 10 points in the second half.
- Freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) and Randall Gaskins Jr. each had 12 points, with Braxton grabbing six rebounds and Gaskins Jr. securing three boards.
- Gaskins Jr. was named NEC Rookie of the Week after averaging 12.5 points and five rebounds per game last week.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Red Flash trails the all-time series, 49-31, against Robert Morris, but swept the season series last year.  SFU won 90-78 at home on January 30, 2016 and 68-57 at RMU on February 11.
 
NEC LEADERS
Early in conference play, Saint Francis owns the NEC's top offense through 15 games, leading the league in scoring (75.2 ppg), field goal percentage (45.4), three pointers made per game (8.7) and three-point percentage (39.7).  The Red Flash offense features a balanced attack with Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) (12.5), Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) (11.8), Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) (11.6) and Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) (10.9) all averaging double-digits in scoring.  SFU and CCSU are the only NEC teams with four players averaging double-figures.  Individually, Braxton leads the league in three-point percentage (53.6), while Nebo tops the conference in blocks, averaging 1.60 per game. 
 
GASKINS WINS NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK HONOR
SFU freshman guard Randall Gaskins Jr. was named the NEC Rookie of the Week for his performance in two games this week.  It is Gaskins Jr.'s first rookie of the week award this season and SFU's 4th, with Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) claiming the other three.  Gaskins averaged 12.5 points and five rebounds this week.  He posted career-bests with 13 points and seven rebounds vs. St. Francis Brooklyn and followed that with 12 points against LIU Brooklyn.

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 24 this year, with a season-high five against St. Francis Brooklyn.  His 84 career blocks are already good for fourth all-time at Saint Francis, recently passing Lou Schmitt (77, 1980-84).  Nebo needs 22 more blocks to tie Earl Brown (2012-15) and Emmanuel Adekunle (1994-98) for third.  Nebo leads NEC with 1.60 blocks per game.
 
ALL IN THE SFU FAMILY
Robert Morris Assistant Coach Mike Iuzzolino is one of the most decorated players in Saint Francis basketball history.  After transferring from Penn State, the Altoona native scored 1,346 points for the Red Flash.  He averaged 24.3 points per game in 1990-91, with a school-record 772 points, to lead SFU to a program-best 24 wins, an NEC Title and an NCAA Tournament berth.  After his time at SFU, Iuzzolino played two seasons for the Dallas Mavericks before playing overseas in Italy, Greece and Spain.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Twelve of the seventeen 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 15 games, the group has combined for 986 of the team's 1,132 points (87.1 percent) and 2499 of 3000 minutes (83.3 percent).  Against LIU Brooklyn, a freshman or sophomore scored 65 of the team's 70 points and the group combined for 167 minutes.
 
BRAXTON ON THE BOARDS
Braxton has enjoyed an impressive freshman campaign, which includes three NEC Rookie of the Week awards.  He has posted double-digit scoring efforts in 10 games this season and has seven games with eight or more rebounds.  His 19 rebounds against Stony Brook are 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 third among NCAA freshmen in rebounds per game (8.2), only 0.9 rebounds behind UCLA's TJ Leaf.  Braxton averages a rebound more per game than any other freshman guard in Division I.  The SFU freshman averages 6.4 defensive rebounds per game, the third-most among any Division I guard.
 
BOMBS AWAY
Saint Francis hit 13 threes against Sacred Heart, the fourth time this season hitting 10 or more threes.  SFU hit 10 against Duquesne and Marquette and 19 vs. Chatham.  SFU has hit 8 or more threes in 10 games.  The Red Flash is currently 25th in the nation with a 39.7 three-point percentage and leads the NEC, hitting 8.7 threes per game.  However, RMU enters Thursday's game ranking fourth in the NCAA in three-point field goal defense (28.1).
 
Sophomore guard Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) leads the team with 30 threes, with senior guard Georgios Angelou (Halkida, Greece/Lykeio Kanithou) and sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) right behind with 27 and 26, respectively.  Braxton leads the NEC in three-point percentage, hitting 53.6 percent of his looks from beyond the arc.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
The Red Flash has put at least four players in double figures in 9 of 15 games this season and at least three in double figures in 12 games.  SFU had five in double figures in the opener at Saint Bonaventure. 
 
King (12.5), Braxton (11.8), Blackmon (11.6) and Nebo (10.9) are all averaging double-figures through 15 games.

ABOUT THE COLONIALS
The Colonials are 6-11 overall and 2-2 in the NEC after splitting a pair of games last week.  RMU fell 65-54 to LIU Brooklyn on Thursday, but bounced back for a 62-58 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday, with both games at home.
 
Sophomore guard Isaiah Still led the Colonials with 23 points in the win over St. Francis Brooklyn.  Still made 7-of-12 shot attempts and went 8-of-11 from the free throw line.  He added seven rebounds.  Freshman guard Dachon Burke tallied nine points off the bench, while senior guard Kavon Stewart contributed seven points.
 
Still paces the Colonials with 15.3 points per game.  He's shooting 39 percent from the floor and 37 percent from three, while averaging 3.8 rebounds per game.  Stewart averages 11.0 points and 3.6 assists per game as well as an NEC-best 2.0 steals per game.  RMU is fourth in the nation in three-point percentage defense (28.1 percent).
 
NEXT TIME OUT…
Saint Francis travels to Emmitsburg, Md. on Saturday to take on Mount St. Mary's.  Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. on NEC Front Row.  Mount is 3-1 in the NEC this season and 5-12 overall.