Flash Points:

• SFU men's basketball welcomes in-state rival Robert Morris to DeGol Arena on Saturday.
• The Red Flash and Colonials are set for a 7 p.m. tipoff on NEC Front Row.
• Fans are encouraged to wear red as part of our "Red Out".
• The Red Flash is 5-4 in NEC play after a 72-67 win at Wagner on Thursday.

SFU Notes | RMU Notes | NEC Front Row | Live Stats | 3-Point Challenge
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team meets Robert Morris at 7 p.m. on Saturday at DeGol Arena.  Fans are encouraged to wear red for the big NEC matchup with the in-state rival.  The game will be broadcast on NEC Front Row, with Pat Farabaugh, play-by-play, and Bernie Jubeck, color analyst, on the call.
 
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach Rob Krimmel, enters the game with an 8-12 record, including 5-4 in the NEC, after a 72-67 road win over Wagner on Thursday.  Sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) led SFU with a career-high 25 points.
 
Robert Morris, coached by Andy Toole, is 7-15 overall and 3-6 in the NEC.  The Colonials fell 48-47 in a tight game at Mount St. Mary's on Thursday.  The Colonials were led by Isaiah Still's 14 points and Kavon Stewart's 13 points.
 
SUITS AND SNEAKERS/3-POINT CHALLENGE
The Saint Francis coaching staff is participating in the NABC Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers week to help support cancer research and awareness.  SFU coaches will also be wearing gold shoe laces as part of "Lace Up For Lacey" in honor of Lacey Holsworth, a Michigan State basketball fan who passed away in 2014 after battling cancer. 
 
Saint Francis men's basketball is also participating in the 2017 Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge.  Fans can support the cause by visiting here and pledging an amount of money that will be donated for each three the Red Flash makes from February 1-March 5 (eight games).  Proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society for research and awareness.  SFU is one of several programs around the country participating in the challenge, with the program who raises the most money being crowned the champion of the event.
 
NOTES FROM WAGNER
- Sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) posted a career-high 25 points to lead the Red Flash.  He made 10-of-14 shots and tied a career-best with four threes.  He added five rebounds, three assists and two steals in his return to the lineup.
- Junior Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) tallied 12 points, on six-of-nine from the floor, six rebounds and three blocks.  With three blocks, he now has 102 for his career as the fifth SFU player to reach 100 career blocks. 
- Senior Georgios Angelou (Halkida, Greece/Lykeio Kanithou) also had 12 points, hitting four threes in a game for the fourth time this season.
- The Red Flash won at Wagner for the first time since January 19, 2006, a 68-61 win in Staten Island.
- SFU won a game that it trailed at halftime for the first time this season, after being down 34-29 at half.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Red Flash trails the all-time series, 49-32, but has won the last three meetings, including a 77-57 victory at the Sewall Center on January 12.  SFU placed five players in double-figures led by Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes)'s 23 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks.
 
NEC LEADERS
Through the first few weeks of conference play, Saint Francis owns the NEC's top offense through 20 games, leading the league in scoring (75.3 ppg), field goal percentage (45.8), three pointers made per game (8.4) and three-point percentage (38.4).  The Red Flash offense features a balanced attack with Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) (13.7), Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) (13.2), Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) (12.5) and Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) (11.3) all averaging double-digits in scoring.  SFU is the only NEC team with four players averaging double-figures.  Individually, Nebo tops the conference in blocks, averaging 2.15 per game, and Blackmon leads in three-point percentage at 49.2.
 
FINDING NEBO
Like a lot of opponents this year, Wagner found sophomore forward Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) at the rim this past weekend, when he had three blocks.  Nebo has become a force when it comes to protecting the rim.  After posting 59 blocks as a freshman, Nebo has 43 this year, with three in the win over Wagner.  His 102 career blocks are already good for fourth all-time at Saint Francis.  Nebo needs just three more blocks to tie Earl Brown (2012-15) and Emmanuel Adekunle (1994-98) for third.  His seven blocks at RMU are tied for the 14th-most in a Division I game this year.  Nebo leads NEC with 2.15 blocks per game.
 
In SFU's last game against Robert Morris, Nebo added 23 points, on 10-of-12 shooting, and eight rebounds.  According to the NEC's Ron Ratner, Nebo is just the fifth player in Division I since 2010 to post 23 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks and shoot over 80 percent in the same game.  Nebo joins an elite group of players that includes former Kentucky forward and current New Orleans Pelican Anthony Davis.
 
KRIMMEL MOVES INTO EIGHTH ON WINS LIST
Saint Francis Head Coach Rob Krimmel picked up his 52nd career win on Thursday in SFU's 72-67 victory at Wagner.  He has now passed John Loughran (1920-24) for eighth all-time at Saint Francis and sits three wins away from tying John Clark (1966-69) for seventh place.
 
ACTION BRAXTON
Braxton has enjoyed an impressive freshman campaign, which continued with his fifth NEC Rookie of the Week award this past week.  He has posted double-digit scoring efforts in 14 games this season and has 10 games with eight or more rebounds.  Braxton has posted five double-doubles.  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 tied for the lead among NCAA freshmen in rebounds per game (8.6), even with UCLA's TJ Leaf.  Braxton averages over a rebound more per game than any other freshman guard in Division I.  The SFU freshman averages 6.5 defensive rebounds per game, the third-most among any Division I guard.
 
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 20 games, the group has combined for 1,315 of the team's 1,511 points (87 percent) and 3383 of 4025 minutes (84 percent).  Against Wagner, a freshman or sophomore scored 60 of the team's 72 points and the group combined for 179 minutes.
 
BOMBS AWAY
Saint Francis hit 10 threes against Wagner, the fifth time this season hitting 10 or more threes.  SFU hit 10 against Duquesne, Marquette and Sacred Heart and 19 vs. Chatham.  SFU has hit 8 or more threes in 12 games.  The Red Flash is currently leading the NEC with a 38.4 three-point percentage and 8.4 threes per game.  SFU hit 50 percent of its three attempts (7-of-14) in its last meeting vs. Robert Morris despite the Colonials entering the game as the fourth best three-point defense in the nation.
 
Sophomore guard Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) leads the team with 42 threes, with senior guard Georgios Angelou (Halkida, Greece/Lykeio Kanithou) and sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) right behind with 40 and 30, respectively. 
 
BALANCED ATTACK
The Red Flash has put at least four players in double figures in 13 of 20 games this season and at least three in double figures in 16 games.  SFU had five in double figures in the opener at Saint Bonaventure, while also placing six in double figures against Chatham and five against Robert Morris.
 
King (13.7), Braxton (13.2), Blackmon (12.5) and Nebo (11.3) are all averaging double-figures through 20 games.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
Saint Francis has won three NEC road games this year, marking the 14th time in program history that SFU has earned three NEC road wins in a season.  However, it's just the fifth time since joining the conference in 1981-82 that SFU has tallied three road wins within its first five NEC road games, joining the 1986-87, 1990-91, 1997-98 and 2015-16 teams.  SFU has reached four NEC road wins in a season eight times.
 
ABOUT THE COLONIALS
The Colonials are 7-15 overall and 3-6 in NEC play after falling 48-47 at Mount St. Mary's on Thursday.
 
Sophomore guard Isaiah Still led the Colonials with 14 points, on 5-of-13 shooting, and five rebounds, while senior guard Kavon Stewart contributed 13 points, going 3-of-10 from the floor, six rebounds and four assists.  RMU shot 31 percent from the floor (16-of-51), 47 percent from three (7-of-15) and just 42 percent (8-of-19) from the foul line.
 
Still leads RMU with a 14.3 points per game average this year.  He is shooting 36 percent from the floor and averaging 3.7 rebounds per game.  Stewart is averaging 11.4 points and 3.6 assists per game.  RMU leads the NEC in three-point defense (27.4 percent) and ranks third in the nation in that category.  They also top the NEC in turnovers forced per game (16.81) and steals per game (7.8).  Stewart leads the NEC with 2.0 steals per contest.
 
NEXT TIME OUT…
Saint Francis hits the road to Brooklyn, N.Y. to continue NEC play.  The Red Flash visits St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday, February 2 and LIU Brooklyn on Saturday, February 4.  Both contests will be broadcast on NEC Front Row.