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Loretto, Pa. - The Saint Francis men's basketball team (12-6, 5-2 NEC) takes its annual trip to Brooklyn to take on LIU (9-10, 4-2 NEC) on Thursday, Jan. 23, and St. Francis Brooklyn (8-10, 2-4 NEC) on Saturday, Jan. 25.
 
Scouting LIU

The Sharks were picked No. 1 in the NEC Preseason Poll and enter the week with the top scoring offense in the NEC. Expect a high-scoring contest as LIU averages 78.3 ppg and Saint Francis is second at 77.3 ppg. The Sharks take and make the most three-pointers in the league, averaging over 10 made three-pointers per game. Raiquan Clark, who led the NEC in scoring last season, is at it again, leading the league in scoring at 19.8 ppg to go with 7.7 rpg. Ty Flowers is second on the team in scoring at 13.8 ppg and has made a team-high 38 threes despite shooting at 28.6% from behind the arc. Senior point guard Jashaun Agosto is a poised veteran who has scored over 1,000 points for his career and is averaging 10.1 ppg in 2019-20. The Sharks are -6.6 on the glass.
 
Series History
 
The series is currently tied at 37-37 after the Red Flash took two of three from LIU last season, including a 72-64 win in the NEC Semifinal.
 
Scouting St. Francis Brooklyn
 
This is the first repeat opponent of the season for the Red Flash after narrowly beating the Terriers, 81-80, on a Randall Gaskins buzzer beater on Jan. 11. The Terriers are 8-10 overall and 2-4 in league play. Guard Chauncey Hawkins leads the Terriers at 14.1 ppg, while Deniz Celen (11.8 ppg), Unique McLean (11.3 ppg) and Rob Higgins (11.1 ppg) also average in double figures. Celen also leads the team in rebounds per game at 6.4, and shoots the best field goal pct. in the conference (59.7%). With Hawkins as the team's primary ball-handler, St. Francis Brooklyn has a +1.44 turnover margin, third best in the league. The Terriers will look to rebound after being held to a season-low 39 points in a loss at Mount St. Mary's Saturday.
 
Series History
 
Gaskins heroics early this month ran the all-time series to 44-39 in SFU's favor. Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) scored 19 points for the Red Flash, while Chauncey Hawkins scored a team-high 16 points for the Terriers.
 
Red Flash Receive Mid-Major Top-25 Votes

For the first time in head coach Rob Krimmel's tenure, the Saint Francis men's basketball team received votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. In its 21st season of existence, the mid-major poll is made up of teams from from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic. Saint Francis received six votes in the poll, which was released on Monday. Gonzaga sits at the top of the poll. Saint Francis is 1-0 against teams in the Top 25, defeating No. 22 William & Mary on Dec. 22.

Smooth Shooting
 
When it comes to pure shooting, Saint Francis is the cream of the crop in the NEC. The Red Flash own the top field goal pct. (45.8%) and free throw pct. (75.3%) in the conference, and rank second in three-point field goal pct. (36.6%). Junior Mark Flagg (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) leads the team in FG% at 59.7%, redshirt freshman Bryce Laskey (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) is the top three-point shooter at 48.1%) and six players have free throw percentages north of 80.0%. Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte) is 83.1% from the foul line and 41.9% from three-point range on 93 attempts.
 
Offense Sputters in Loss at Merrimack
 
The Saint Francis offense came into Monday's matchup executing at an extremely high level, hitting at least 80 points in four of its last five games, but was held to a season-low 55 points vs. the Warriors. Playing without two of its top four scorers, including leading scorer Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte), Saint Francis turned the ball over 21 times and went just 2-12 from three-point range.