Flash Points:

• SFU Men's Basketball travels to UMBC for the Second Round of the CIT on Saturday.
• Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at RAC Arena.
• The game will be broadcast on Facebook Live on the UMBC Athletics page.
• SFU advanced to the Second Round with a 78-76 win over Jacksonville on Tuesday.

SFU Notes | Facebook Live | Live Stats | CollegeInsider.com | All-NEC Release | Altoona Mirror Feature
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis Men's Basketball team takes on UMBC in the Second Round of the CollegeInsiders.com Tournament on Saturday.  The Red Flash and The Retrievers are set for a 2 p.m. tipoff at RAC Arena.  The game will be broadcast on Facebook Live on the UMBC Athletics page, with Gary Stein on play-by-play and Paul Mittermeier as color analyst.
 
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach Rob Krimmel, is 17-16 overall this season after a 78-76 win over Jacksonville in CIT First Round in the Hugh Durham Classic.  Sophomore Andre Wolford (Willowick, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) was named Hugh Durham Classic MVP after scoring a team-best 13 points, including three triples.  Fellow sophomore Scott Meredith (Pilot Mountain, N.C./Hargrave Military Academy (Va.)) had 12 points on four threes.
 
The Retrievers, coached by Ryan Odom, is 19-12 overall.  UMBC was the No. 5 seed in the America East Tournament.  UMBC advanced to the Second Round of the CIT with an 88-83 win over Fairfield on Wednesday.
 
For tickets, visit here.
 
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM TOURNAMENT
SFU is now 1-1 in the CIT after its 78-76 win over Jacksonville.  The Red Flash fell 67-64 to Bowling Green in the 2015 CIT First Round game at DeGol Arena.
 
NEC TOURNAMENT RECAP
The Red Flash made an incredible run to last Tuesday's NEC Championship game.  SFU hosted Bryant in the NEC Quarterfinals, SFU's first time hosting an NEC Tournament game under the current tournament format, which began in 2002.  It was SFU's first time hosting a Quarterfinal or Later round game since the NEC Championship game in 1991.  SFU earned a 100-78 win over the Bulldogs.  The Red Flash moved on to the NEC Semifinals, where it met Wagner at the Spiro Center.  Freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) hit a buzzer-beating three from the wing to send SFU to the NEC Championship with a 71-70 win.  Braxton's shot was the No. 1 play on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays.  With a defender in his face, Braxton threw up a three with 2.1 seconds left.  The ball rolled around the rim and dropped in just as time expired.  The shot will go down as one of the biggest in Saint Francis basketball history.  The highlight immediately swept across social media, being shown on ESPN, the NCAA March Madness and Sports Illustrated Twitter accounts, among others.  The Red Flash then fell 71-61 at Mount St. Mary's in the NEC Championship game.
 
SIXTH POSTSEASON APPEARANCE
Saint Francis is making its second appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, also playing in 2015 when it hosted Bowling Green in a First Round matchup.  This is SFU's sixth overall postseason tournament appearance.  The Red Flash played in the NCAA Tournament in 1991 and the NIT three times (1954, 1955, 1958) to go with its two CIT appearances.
 
With its win on Tuesday over Jacksonville, SFU earned its first postseason win since the NCAA Play-In Game vs. Fordham in 1991.  SFU is now 5-5 all-time in postseason tournaments, with a 1-1 mark in the CIT.  SFU is 3-3 in the NIT, with its last win coming in 1955.

NOTES FROM JACKSONVILLE (CIT FIRST ROUND)
- The Red Flash earned a 78-76 win over Jacksonville in the Hugh Durham Classic in the First Round of the CIT.
- Sophomore Andre Wolford (Willowick, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) was named Hugh Durham Classic MVP after leading SFU with 13 points, including three triples.
- Sophomore Scott Meredith (Pilot Mountain, N.C./Hargrave Military Academy (Va.)) posted a career-high 12 points, in just 10 minutes of playing time, including four threes.
- Sophomore Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds to go with three blocks.
- SFU won its first postseason game since the 1991 NCAA Play-In Game against Fordham (70-64).
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Red Flash trails the all-time series, 9-6, against UMBC, but won the last two meetings during the 2002-03 season before the Retrievers left the NEC for the America East Conference.
 
NEC HONORS
On February 28, the NEC All-Conference teams and major awards were announced.  Sophomore Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year.  Nebo leads the conference with 2.67 blocks per game.  Freshman Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) was selected NEC Rookie of the Year after finishing the regular season just one NEC Rookie of the Week award shy of tying the conference record.  Braxton is averaging 13.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  Braxton was also named Second Team All-NEC while Nebo was selected Third Team.  Sophomore Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) joined Nebo on the third team.  Blackmon is averaging 13.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
 
NEC LEADERS
Saint Francis played its entire regular season conference schedule owning the NEC's top offense, leading the league in scoring (75.7 ppg), field goal percentage (46.5), three-pointers made per game (8.0) and three-point percentage (39.0).  Individually, Nebo tops the conference in blocks, averaging 2.67 per game, while Blackmon leads in three-point percentage at 49.1 and Braxton leads with 6.7 defensive rebounds per contest.
 
NEBO SETS CAREER BLOCKS RECORD
Sophomore Josh Nebo (Houston, Texas/Cypress Lakes) was named NEC Defensive Player of the Year and backed up that accolade with an incredible performance against Wagner.  Nebo swatted away a career-high eight shots, breaking the SFU game record of seven blocks.  He had three blocks against Jacksonville in the CIT.  Nebo raised his career block total to 144, recently passing Melvin Scott (137, 1996-01) for first all-time at Saint Francis.  After posting 56 blocks as a freshman, Nebo has 88 this year, an SFU season record, previously held by Scott (70, 2000-01).  Nebo has six games with five or more blocks this year.  Nebo leads NEC with 2.67 blocks per game and ranks ninth in the nation in total blocks and 10th in blocks per game.
 
ACTION BRAXTON
Braxton's impressive freshman campaign was rewarded with his NEC Rookie of the Year award.  He has posted double-digit scoring efforts in 22 games this season and has 17 games with eight or more rebounds.  Braxton has posted nine double-doubles, the fourth-most of any Division I freshmen.  He leads all NCAA freshmen in rebounds per game (8.7), leading by 0.3 rebounds per game. Braxton averages 1.6 more rebounds per game than any other freshman guard in Division I.  The SFU freshman averages 6.7 defensive rebounds per game, the second-most among Division I guards.
 
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 33 games, the group has combined for 2,177 of the team's 2,498 points (87.1 percent) and 5,717 of 6,675 minutes (85.6 percent).  Against JU, a freshman or sophomore scored 64 of the team's 78 points and the group combined for 173 minutes.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
With the win at Jacksonville, SFU collected its ninth road win of the season.  That is the most road wins in a season since 1966-67 and just two off the program record of 11 road wins, set by the 1951-52 team.  Saint Francis won its sixth NEC road game of the season on February 16 at CCSU.  The 2016-17 team is the first ever in program-history to win six NEC road games in a season since joining the conference in 1981-82. 
 
KRIMMEL MOVES INTO SIXTH ON WINS LIST
Saint Francis Head Coach Rob Krimmel picked up his 61st career win, and his first postseason win, on Tuesday in SFU's 78-76 victory at Jacksonville.  He has now passed Dave Magarity (1978-83) for sixth at SFU and is nine wins behind Pete Lonergan (1973-78) for fifth.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
The Red Flash has put at least four players in double figures in 22 of 33 games this season and at least three in double figures in 29 games.  SFU placed five players in double-figures against Bryant, marking the sixth time this season it has accomplished that.  SFU had five in double figures in the opener at Saint Bonaventure, while also placing six in double figures against Chatham and five against CCSU, Robert Morris and Sacred Heart(2x).
 
Blackmon (13.6), Braxton (13.1), Nebo (12.0) and King (11.9) are all averaging double-figures through 33 games.
 
BOMBS AWAY
Saint Francis hit 11 threes against Jacksonville on Tuesday, the ninth time this season hitting 10 or more threes.  SFU hit 10 against Bryant, Duquesne, Marquette, Sacred Heart(2x) and Wagner, 11 against Jacksonville and Wagner, and 19 vs. Chatham.  SFU has hit 8 or more threes in 16 games.  The Red Flash is currently leading the NEC with a 39.0 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 67 threes, with sophomores Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) and Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) right behind with 57 and 50, respectively.
 
ABOUT THE RETRIEVERS
The Retrievers are 19-12 overall and finished the regular season with a 9-7 record in America East play.  UMBC was the No. 5 seed in the America East Tournament.  UMBC advanced to the Second Round of the CIT with an 88-83 win over Fairfield on Wednesday.
 
Junior guard Jairus Lyles led the Retrievers with 20 points in the win against Fairfield.  Lyles made 7-of-13 shots, including two threes.  He added six rebounds, three assists and two steals.  Senior forward Will Darley joined Lyles as one of five Retrievers to score in double-digits.  Darley had 17 points, making 6-of-10 shots, with three triples, four rebounds and five assists.  Junior guard K.J. Maura contributed 15 points, with three triples, three rebounds and five assists.  UMBC shot 51 percent from the field and 41 percent from three.
 
Second Team All-AE selection Lyles leads UMBC with a 19.1 scoring average, shooting 44 percent from the field, and averages six rebounds per contest.  Darley was also a Second Team All-AE honoree, averaging 15.8 points while shooting 49 percent overall and 45 percent from three.  Darley is sixth in the nation in three-point percentage.  Forward Joe Sherburne averages 11.1 points per game.
 
NEXT TIME OUT…
The winner of the Saint Francis-UMBC matchup will advance to the Quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, with the opponent, date, time and location to be determined.