Flash Points:

• Men's Basketball takes on St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday at DeGol Arena.
• Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on NEC Front Row.
• The Red Flash is coming off an 87-67 win at Sacred Heart, which featured double-doubles by Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) and Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte).

SFU Notes | SFBK Notes | NEC Front Row | Live Stats
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team welcomes St. Francis Brooklyn to DeGol Arena on Thursday for an NEC matchup.  The Red Flash and The Terriers are set for a 7 p.m. tipoff 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 a 4-9 record after splitting its opening weekend of conference play.  SFU earned an 87-67 win at Sacred Heart on Saturday after falling 77-65 at Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday.  Freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) and sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) each recorded double-doubles in SFU's win.
 
St. Francis Brooklyn, coached by Glenn Braica, is 4-11 this year and off to a 2-0 start in NEC play after two overtime wins last weekend.  The Terriers knocked off Bryant, 80-77, and Central Connecticut State, 86-77.
 
NOTES FROM SACRED HEART
- Freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) and sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) each recorded double-doubles in the win.  Braxton had a career-high 27 points to go with 13 rebounds, while Blackmon posted career-bests with 22 points and 10 boards.
- Senior Georgios Angelou (Halkida, Greece/Lykeio Kanithou) netted a career-high 16 points, hitting six-of-nine shots, including four threes, and dished out six assists.  Sophomore Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) had 11 points off the bench.
- Sophomore Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) had two blocks to give him 19 for the season and 78 for his career, moving him into fourth place all-time at SFU.
- SFU's 87-67 win over Sacred Heart was its largest NEC win since a 71-49 win against Monmouth on December 1, 2011.
- It was also SFU's largest NEC road win since February 11, 2010 at Bryant, when it earned a 60-34 victory.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The series is currently tied 38-38, with the Terriers taking the last seven games, including two games last year.  SFU fell 70-58 on February 18, 2016 at home and 73-56 on January 7, 2016 in Brooklyn.
 
NEC LEADERS
Early in conference play, Saint Francis owns the NEC's top offense through 13 games, leading the league in scoring (75.2 ppg), field goal percentage (44.4), three pointers made per game (9.0) and three-point percentage (39.8).  The Red Flash offense features a balanced attack with Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) (13.4), Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) (12.0), Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) (11.0) and Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) (10.5) all averaging double-digits in scoring.  SFU has also been smart on the defensive end, ranking 13th in the nation and first in the league in fewest fouls per game.  Individually, Nebo tops the conference in blocks, averaging 1.46 per game. 
 
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 19 this year, with two coming at Sacred Heart.  His 78 career blocks are already good for fourth all-time at Saint Francis, recently passing Lou Schmitt (77, 1980-84).  Nebo needs 27 more blocks to tie Earl Brown (2012-15) and Emmanuel Adekunle (1994-98) for third.  Nebo leads NEC with 1.46 blocks per game.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) posted his third double-double of the season in SFU's 87-67 win over Sacred Heart, with a career-high 27 points and 13 rebounds.  Sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) joined him with 22 points and 10 rebounds, both career-bests.  That was the first SFU duo to post double-doubles in the same game since Earl Brown (22 points, 12 rebounds) and Ronnie Drinnon (Jamestown, Ohio/Greenview) (12 points, 10 rebounds) on February 14, 2015 vs. LIU Brooklyn.  Braxton and Blackmon are also the first SFU teammates to net 20 points in the same game since Drinnon (23) and Ben Millaud-Meunier (Montreal, Quebec/Vanier) (27) against Central Connecticut State on February 6, 2016.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Eleven 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 13 games, the group has combined for 849 of the team's 977 points (86.7 percent) and 2157 of 2600 minutes (82.9 percent).  Against Marquette, a freshman or sophomore scored all 65 points and the group combined for 178 minutes.
 
BRAXTON EARNS THIRD NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK AWARD
Braxton has enjoyed an impressive freshman campaign and earned his third NEC Rookie of the Week award this past Monday.  He averaged 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in two games this past week, while shooting 56 percent from the floor, 57 percent from three and 92 percent from the free throw line.  In addition to his double-double at Sacred Heart, Braxton had 15 points (13 in second half), five rebounds, two assists and three steals against FDU.  He has posted double-digit scoring efforts in nine games this season and has seven 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 (8.2), only 0.7 rebounds behind UCLA's TJ Leaf.  Braxton averages a rebound more per game than any other freshman guard in the country.
 
BOMBS AWAY
Saint Francis hit 13 threes against Sacred Heart on Saturday, the fourth time this season hitting 10 or more threes.  SFU hit 10 against Duquesne, 10 against Marquette and 19 vs. Chatham.  The Red Flash is currently 29th the nation with a 39.8 three-point percentage and leads the NEC, hitting 9.0 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 27 threes, with senior guard Georgios Angelou (Halkida, Greece/Lykeio Kanithou) and sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) right behind with 24 and 22, respectively.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
The Red Flash has put at least four players in double figures in 7 of 13 games this season and at least three in double figures in 10 games.  SFU had five in double figures in the opener at Saint Bonaventure. 
 
King (13.4), Braxton (12.0), Blackmon (11.0) and Nebo (10.5) are all averaging double-
figures through 13 games.
 
ABOUT THE TERRIERS
The Terriers enter Thursday's matchup with a 4-11 overall record, coming off two wins last weekend to open NEC play.  St. Francis Brooklyn defeated Bryant, 80-77, on Thursday and Central Connecticut State, 86-77, on Saturday, with both wins coming in overtime.
 
In the win over CCSU, sophomore guard Glenn Sanabria led the Terriers with 26 points, hitting 9-of-14 shots, with seven threes.  Freshman guard Rasheem Dunn contributed 19 points and six rebounds off the bench, while senior guard Yunus Hopkinson added 17 points.  The Terriers shot 44 percent from the field and 36 percent from three, but hit 26 free throws, out of 38 attempts.
 
On the season, Sanabria leads the squad with 14.8 points per game to go with a team-high 42 threes and 44 assists.  Dunn and Hopkinson each average 13.3 points per game, with Hopkinson hitting 39 threes this year. 
 
NEXT TIME OUT…
Saint Francis hosts LIU Brooklyn on Saturday, January 7 at DeGol Arena.  Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. on NEC Front Row.