Staten Island, N.Y.. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team (10-7, 4-2 NEC) hits the road for games at Wagner on Thursday, Jan. 18, and Sacred Heart on Saturday, Jan. 20.
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Scouting Wagner
The Seahawks, picked third in the NEC Preseason Poll, have lived up to its billing with an 11-6 overall record and a 4-2 record in conference play. Wagner, led by head coach Bashir Mason, gets after it defensively allowing a league-low 69.2 points per game. Teams are shooting a league-worst 40.2% from the field vs. the Wagner defense as it blocks a league-high 4.7 shots per contest. The Seahawks also lead the league in scoring differential with a +4.8 scoring margin. Blake Francis leads Wagner and is fourth in the NEC in scoring at 18.1 ppg. His backcourt mate, JoJo Cooper, chips in with 14.1 ppg and a league-best 5.65 assists per game. Saint Francis will look to keep redshirt junior and Quinnipiac transfer AJ Sumbry off the glass. Sumbry leads the conference in blocked shots (2.24 per game), is second in offensive rebounds per game (2.82) and sixth in total rebounding (7.1 per game.).
Series History
The last outing between the teams turned into an instant classic with
Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) hitting a buzzer-beater to send Saint Francis to its first NEC title game since 1990-91. SFU won two of the three meetings last season to pull ahead 36-34 in the series. All three contests last season were decided by five points or less with the away team winning all three games.
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Scouting Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart snapped a three-game losing streak in a big way on Saturday with a 92-52 win over St. Francis Brooklyn. The Pioneers are 2-4 in conference play and are led by Joe Lopez at 12.8 ppg and 8.9 rpg. Mario Matasovic is second in scoring (12.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.1 rpg). Sacred Heart is a sound defensive unit with good size. The Pioneers own the second-ranked scoring defense (71.5 ppg) and lead the league in rebounding margin (+7.9) but have reached 70 points in just seven of 18 games vs. Division I opponents.
Series History
Saint Francis is 16-13 all-time vs. the Pioneers, sweeping last year's two games by a combined 29 points.
COACHES VS. CANCER
The Saint Francis men's basketball staff will participate in Coaches vs. Cancer week in its games at Wagner and Sacred Heart. Coaches vs. Cancer Suits And Sneakers® Week
(January 22-28, 2018) is a nationwide event that unites coaches across the country to raise funds and awareness about the fight against cancer, and promotes the American Cancer Society as a source of inspiration and hope for those facing cancer. While coaching games during the week, coaches wear sneakers with their game attire as a visible reminder about the importance of fighting cancer. The Red Flash staff has decided to wear gold shoelaces in honor of the Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer initiative.
KING NETS FIRST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior guard
Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) shared Player of the Week honors with Mount St. Mary's senior Junior Robinson after averaging 29.0 points per game and 6.0 assists per game in SFU's two games last week. King leads the NEC in scoring during conference play at 25.2 ppg and is sixth in assists at 4.17 ppg. He recorded 27 points and eight assists in a win at Robert Morris then followed it up with a career-high 31 points in an overtime loss to Mount St. Mary's. He has scored 20 points or more in five straight games. It is his first Player of the Week of his career.
CLUTCH FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
Saint Francis leads the NEC and is T-17 in all of NCAA Division I in free throw pct. at 77.4%. The Red Flash knocked down 17-19 vs. Mount St. Mary's on Saturday and has made over 70% of its tries in 14 of its 17 games and all six conference games. Five regular rotation players are shooting 79% or higher.
BOUNCING BACK
The Red Flash has been a resilient group in in 2017-18, posting a 4-2 record in games following a loss. Saint Francis's longest losing streak of the season is just two games.
