Game Notes

Loretto, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team (16-11, 10-6 NEC) closes its regular season this weekend with an away game at Fairleigh Dickinson (11-16, 8-8 NEC) on Thursday and a home game vs. Robert Morris (15-14, 9-7) on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Live Thursday: Watch | Stats

Scouting Fairleigh Dickinson

Since its 74-60 loss to Saint Francis on Feb. 1, the Knights have recorded wins in four of their last five games and sit in a tie for sixth place in the conference. Saint Francis will have to do a good job defensively on Darnell Edge and Mike Holloway Jr. Edge leads the team in scoring at 13.8 ppg and is a dangerous shooter when given space. Holloway is one of the top interior players in the conference and averages 13.5 ppg and a team-high 7.1 rpg.

Series History
 
Saint Francis has won the last two meetings and leads the series 47-43. Sophomore Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./The Lawrenceville School) recorded a triple-double and Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) and Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) added 17 points in the win on Feb. 1.
 
Live Saturday: Watch | Stats

Scouting Robert Morris
 
The Colonials are fueled by their defense. They enter the week with the second-ranked scoring defense in the league at 70.7 ppg and limit opponents to just 31.7% shooting from three-point range. Saint Francis had no trouble scoring on the Colonials in the first meeting, an 89-80 win. It was the second most points allowed by Robert Morris this season behind a 95-64 loss to Ohio State in the season opener. Dachon Burke leads the team in scoring at 17.9 ppg followed by freshman Koby Thomas at 12.6 ppg.
 
Series History
 
Saint Francis rides a five-game winning streak over the Colonials into Saturday but Robert Morris leads the series 51-32. King scored 27 points in the win on Jan. 11 and junior Andre Wolford (Willowick, Ohio/Saint Ignatius) added 22.
 
PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
 
Head coach Rob Krimmel's mantra all season has been to get this group ready to play its best basketball by the end of February and into the conference tournament. It seems to be working as SFU is currently enjoying a three-game win streak, the longest current streak in the conference. Saint Francis has outscored its opponents by 64 points during the stretch, an average of 21.3 points per game. Junior guard Jamaal King (Salisbury, Md./Bishop O'Connell (Va.)) has been at the forefront of the recent surge, averaging 25.0 points per game.
 
BRAXTON CRASHING THE BOARDS
 
Braxton continues to put up eye-popping rebounding numbers in just his second season in the collegiate ranks. He ranks sixth in all of NCAA Division I in defensive rebounds at 8.11 per game, second among guards and first among underclassmen. He ranks 23^rd in total rebounding at 9.7 per game, also second among all guards, behind New Mexico State's Jemerrio Jones. His 13 double-doubles rank 17^th in the NCAA and he has 15 games with 10 or more rebounds.
 
HARMON SHINES ON SENIOR DAY
 
Senior Malik Harmon (Queens, N.Y./Christ the King) made a statement on Senior Day in last Saturday's win over Bryant with a season-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Harmon, a three-year starter with the Red Flash, has had to accept a role off the bench this season and his numbers have suffered as a result. The 2013-14 NEC Rookie of the Year has been a huge reason for SFU's turnaround, leading the Red Flash to five NEC Tournaments. His 21-point game was the seventh of his career and the first of his senior season. He needs just three assists to move into seventh all-time in the school's career record book as he currently sits with 319.