Flash Points:

• SFU Men's Basketball welcomes NEC-Leader Mount St. Mary's to DeGol Arena on Saturday.
• Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on NEC Front Row.
• The Red Flash is 8-5 in NEC play, tied for third in the conference standings, while Mount sits in first place with an 11-2 conference mark.

SFU Notes | MSM Notes | NEC Front Row | Live Stats | 3-Point Challenge
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team meets Mount St. Mary's for another key NEC matchup on Saturday at DeGol Arena.  Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. with a broadcast on NEC Front Row, with Pat Farabaugh  (play-by-play) and Bernie Jubeck (color).  Fans are encouraged to wear red to the game. 
 
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach Rob Krimmel, is 11-13 overall and 8-5 in NEC play after a tough 76-74 overtime loss against Wagner on Thursday.  Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) led SFU with 15 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks for his sixth double-double this year.  SFU is tied for third in the NEC standings with LIU Brooklyn and Wagner after last night's game.
 
The Mount, coached by Jamion Christian, is 13-13 overall and 11-2 in conference play after a 74-70 win at Robert Morris on Thursday.  Junior Robinson led MSM with 28 points and five assists.  Mount sits in the top spot in the conference standings.
 
3-POINT CHALLENGE
Saint Francis men's basketball is 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 Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) posted his sixth double-double of the season, and fourth in NEC play, with 15 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks.  Nebo made 7-of-13 shots.
- Sophomore Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) added 13 points, including three free throws to send the game into overtime.
- Freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) had 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while fellow rookie Randall Gaskins Jr. had 10 points and three steals.
- With seven points, sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) was held to single digits for just the second time in NEC play this year.
- Three straight SFU home games have gone to overtime, against CCSU (L, 84-83), Robert Morris (W, 89-83) and Wagner.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Red Flash trails the all-time series, 44-30, against Mount St. Mary's.  SFU fell 78-72 at Mount St. Mary's on January 14.  Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) led SFU with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) had 23 points.
 
NEBO EARNS NEC WEEKLY HONOR
Saint Francis sophomore Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) was named NEC Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday.  Nebo averaged 21.5 points, seven rebounds and two blocks per game to lead SFU to two wins.  He posted his fifth double-double this season in the win at St. Francis Brooklyn with a career-high 24 points to go with 11 rebounds.  On Saturday at LIU, Nebo had 19 points, three rebounds and three blocks. 
 
NEC LEADERS
Nearing the finish of conference play, Saint Francis owns the NEC's top offense through 24 games, leading the league in scoring (76.2 ppg), field goal percentage (45.8), three pointers made per game (8.0) and three-point percentage (38.1).  The Red Flash offense features a balanced attack with Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) (13.0), Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) (12.8), Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) (12.8) and Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) (12.5) 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 2.42 per game, and Blackmon leads in three-point percentage at 50.0.
 
NEBO NEARING BLOCKS RECORD
Like a lot of opponents this year, Wagner found sophomore forward Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) at the rim on Thursday, when he had five blocks.  Nebo has become a force when it comes to protecting the rim.  After posting 59 blocks as a freshman, Nebo has 58 this year. His 117 career blocks rank second all-time at Saint Francis after recently passing Jerry Mack (109, 1985-89) for second place.  Nebo has four games with five or more blocks this year.  His seven blocks at RMU are tied for the 14th-most in a Division I game this year.  Nebo leads NEC with 2.42 blocks per game and ranks 25th in the nation in total blocks. 
 
KRIMMEL TIED FOR SEVENTH ON WINS LIST
Saint Francis Head Coach Rob Krimmel picked up his 55th career win on Saturday in SFU's 80-78 victory at LIU Brooklyn.  He is now tied with John Clark (1966-69) for seventh place at SFU. He is five wins away from tying Dave Magarity (1978-83) for sixth.
 
ACTION BRAXTON
Braxton has enjoyed an impressive freshman campaign, which continued with his sixth NEC Rookie of the Week award earlier this week.  He has posted double-digit scoring efforts in 16 games this season and has 12 games with eight or more rebounds.  Braxton has posted six 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 ranks second all NCAA freshmen in rebounds per game (8.7), trailing UCLA's T.J. Leaf by 0.2 rpg.  Braxton averages 1.5 more rebounds per game than any other freshman guard in Division I.  The SFU freshman averages 6.7 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 24 games, the group has combined for 1,600 of the team's 1,832 points (87.3 percent) and 4155 of 4875 minutes (85.2 percent).  Against Wagner, a freshman or sophomore scored 66 of the team's 74 points and the group combined for 206 minutes.
 
BOMBS AWAY
Saint Francis hit 10 threes against Wagner on January 28, 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 38.1 three-point percentage and 8.0 threes per game.  SFU hit 50 percent of its three attempts in both of its meetings vs. Robert Morris despite the Colonials entering the games ranked among the top four three-point defenses in the nation.
 
Senior Georgios Angelou (Halkida, Greece/Lykeio Kanithou) leads the team with 47 threes, with sophomores Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) and Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) right behind with 42 and 40, respectively.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
The Red Flash has put at least four players in double figures in 16 of 24 games this season and at least three in double figures in 20 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.
 
Blackmon (13.0), Braxton (12.8), King (12.8) and Nebo (12.5) are all averaging double-figures through 24 games.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
Saint Francis has won five NEC road games this year, marking just the fourth time that has happened in program history.  This team joins the 1990-91, 1993-94 and 1997-98 squads.  SFU swept its Brooklyn road trip for the first time since the 1993-94 season. SFU has never won six NEC road games in a season, but will have an opportunity to get its sixth next weekend when it travels to Bryant and Central Connecticut State.
 
ABOUT THE MOUNT
The Mount is 13-13 overall and 11-2 in NEC play after a 74-70 win at Robert Morris on Thursday.
 
In the win against the Colonials, guard Junior Robinson led the Mount with 28 points, hitting 8-of-14 shots and 9-of-11 from the free throw line.  Robinson also had five assists.  Greg Alexander added 11 points and seven rebounds.  Mount shot 48 percent from the field and 45 percent from the three-point line. 
 
Sophomore guard Elijah Long leads the Mount with a 14.0 scoring average, 5.3 rebounds per game and 4.3 assists per contest.  Robinson is averaging 13.6 points per game and shooting 40.5 percent from three.  Robinson is 13th in the nation with a 90.8 free-throw percentage.  Miles Wilson is contributing 11.2 points per game. 
 
NEXT TIME OUT…
Saint Francis visits Bryant and Central Connecticut State next weekend to continue NEC play.  Thursday's matchup against CCSU starts at 7 p.m.