Flash Points:

• SFU men's basketball travels to New Britain, Conn. on Thursday to face Central Connecticut State.
• Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on NEC Front Row.
• The Red Flash is 11-14 overall and 8-6 in the NEC, looking to bounce back after a pair of losses last weekend.
• The Blue Devils are 5-20 overall and 3-11 in conference play.

SFU Notes | CCSU Notes | NEC Front Row | Live Stats | 3-Point Challenge
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team travels to Central Connecticut State on Thursday.  Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Detrick Gymnasium, with a broadcast on NEC Front Row.
 
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach Rob Krimmel, is looking to bounce back after two losses last weekend, including an 81-62 setback against Mount St. Mary's on Saturday.  SFU is 11-14 overall and 8-6 in the NEC and currently tied for fourth in the conference standings.
 
Central Connecticut State, coached by Donyell Marshall, is 5-20 overall and 3-11 in conference play.  CCSU also dropped two games last week, including a 77-62 loss at Sacred Heart on Saturday.  CCSU has won three of its last seven games after starting 0-7 in NEC contests.
 
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 MOUNT ST. MARY'S
- Freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) led the Red Flash with 14 points, on six-of-nine shooting, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.
- Fellow rookie Randall Gaskins Jr. had 10 points, hitting five-of-seven shots, and four rebounds.
- Sophomore Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) added 10 points and four rebounds, while hitting a pair of threes.
- SFU shot a season-best 81 percent in the first half, hitting 17-of-21 attempts, with 22 of its 38 points coming in the paint.
- Mount went on a 24-0 run in the second half to pull away with the win.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Red Flash trails the all-time series, 21-17, against Central Connecticut State.  SFU fell 84-83 in overtime at DeGol Arena on January 21.  CCSU's Khalen Cumberlander hit a go-ahead three with 2.5 seconds left in overtime.
 
NEC PLAYOFF RACE
Despite two losses last weekend, the Red Flash has clinched a spot in the NEC Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, March 1.  With four games left in the regular season, SFU is tied with Wagner for fourth place.  If SFU can finish in the top four of the conference, it will host its first NEC Tournament Quarterfinals Game at DeGol Arena since 1991, when it won the conference championship.
 
NEC LEADERS
Nearing the finish of conference play, Saint Francis owns the NEC's top offense through 25 games, leading the league in scoring (75.6 ppg), field goal percentage (46.1), three pointers made per game (7.9) and three-point percentage (38.3).  The Red Flash offense features a balanced attack with Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) (12.8), Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) (12.8), Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) (12.6) and Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) (12.2) 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 2.4 per game, and Blackmon leads in three-point percentage at 48.2.
 
NEBO NEARING BLOCKS RECORD
Like a lot of opponents this year, Mount St. Mary's found sophomore forward Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) at the rim on Saturday, when he had two blocks.  Nebo has become a force when it comes to protecting the rim.  He also had five blocks against Wagner on Thursday.  After posting 59 blocks as a freshman, Nebo has 60 this year. His 119 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 2.4 blocks per game and ranks 20th in the nation in total blocks and 23rd in blocks per game.
 
KRIMMEL TIED FOR SEVENTH ON WINS LIST
Saint Francis Head Coach Rob Krimmel picked up his 55th career win 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 last week.  He has posted double-digit scoring efforts in 17 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 (8.6), trailing UCLA's T.J. Leaf by 0.2 rpg.  Braxton averages 1.4 more rebounds per game than any other freshman guard in Division I.  The SFU freshman averages 6.6 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 25 games, the group has combined for 1,659 of the team's 1,896 points (87.5 percent) and 4332 of 5075 minutes (85.4 percent).  Against Mount St. Mary's, a freshman or sophomore scored 59 of the team's 62 points and the group combined for 177 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 38.3 three-point percentage and 7.9 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 48 threes, with sophomores Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) and Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) right behind with 44 and 40, respectively.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
The Red Flash has put at least four players in double figures in 16 of 25 games this season and at least three in double figures in 21 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 (12.08), Braxton (12.8), King (12.6) and Nebo (12.2) are all averaging double-figures through 25 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 this weekend when it travels to CCSU and Bryant.
 
ABOUT THE BLUE DEVILS
The Blue Devils are 5-20 overall and 3-11 in NEC play.  CCSU fell 79-62 against Fairleigh Dickinson last Thursday and 77-62 at Sacred Heart this past Saturday.  CCSU has won three of its last seven games after starting 0-7 in conference play.
 
Junior forward Mustafa Jones led the Blue Devils with 14 points against Sacred Heart.  He hit 7-of-12 shot attempts and added six rebounds and six blocks.  Senior guard Khalen Cumberlander and sophomore guard Austin Nehls each had 12 points and five rebounds.  CCSU shot 43 percent in the game, making 22-of-51 shot attempts.
 
On the season, Nehls leads CCSU with a 13.6 scoring average and 60 made threes.  Cumberlander is averaging 12.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.  Jones is contributing 11 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest.  Nehls had a team-high 21 points and six threes in CCSU's 84-83 OT win over SFU on January 21.  Jones had 20 points, while Cumberlander had 19 in that game.
 
NEXT TIME OUT…
Saint Francis visits Bryant on Saturday in its last NEC Regular season road game.  The Bulldogs are 9-18 overall and 6-8 in conference play entering this weekend.