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Saint Francis University Athletics

Tyler Stewart

Men's Basketball

Red Flash look to lock in No. 1 seed in final week of conference play

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Loretto, Pa. – Saint Francis continues its pursuit of the NEC regular-season title and the No. 1 overall seed in the conference tournament on Thursday, Feb. 27, when it takes on Mount St. Mary's at 7 p.m. The Red Flash will conclude the regular-season on Saturday, Feb. 29, at Robert Morris in a game that will decide who earns the No. 1 seed in the NEC Tournament.
 
Scouting Mount St. Mary's
 
The Mountaineers stopped a five-game losing streak on Saturday to move to 7-9 in conference play and clinch a berth in the NEC Tournament. The Mountaineers have a bevy of scoring options as all five starters average in double figures led by sophomore Damian Chong-Qui and junior Jalen Gibbs at 11.7 ppg. The Mountaineers athletic front court is also a handful and features sophomores Nana Opoku and Malik Jefferson. The Mountaineers boast the second-best defense in the conference, holding opponents to 66.0 ppg. Vado Morse, the NEC Rookie of the Year in 2018-19, is another scoring option who averages a tick under 2.0 made threes a game. Saint Francis trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half at Mount St. Mary's earlier this season before closing on a gigantic run over the final 16 minutes to win 70-55 despite 24 points from Gibbs.
 
Series History
 
Saint Francis has won three straight over the Mountaineers to close the overall series to 49-33 in favor of the Mount.
 
Scouting Robert Morris
 
The Colonials have been the front runners in the NEC since its 11-2 start, but enter Saturday's matchup losers of three of their last four, including a 15-point loss in Loretto last week. Robert Morris is led by senior guard Josh Williams and junior big man A.J. Bramah. Williams has knocked down 41.7% of his three-point tries and leads the league with 3.1 made threes per game to average a team-best 13.2 points per contest. Bramah is the first option off the Colonials' bench and averages 13.0 ppg and 8.2 rpg.

Robert Morris shares the basketball and takes care of the basketball, leading the league in assists (16.2 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (+1.79). Saint Francis leads the NEC in 3PT FG% at 37.3%, while the Colonials are second at 36.2%.
 
Series History
 
Saint Francis ran its win streak over the Colonials to nine with an 86-71 win on Feb. 18 behind a career-high 30 points from redshirt senior Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte). RMU leads the all-time series, 49-38.
 
Winning With Defense
 
SFU's consistent defense over the season has made it difficult to outscore the high-powered Red Flash offense. The recipe for success against Saint Francis is to slow down its attack, which has been difficult to do. Saint Francis is 18-3 on the season when scoring 70 or more points and just 1-5 when held under 70. The Red Flash have eclipsed 70 points in 14 of 16 conference games to date, with the exception being in losses to Merrimack and at Bryant.
 
 Playoff Update
 
Regardless of what happens on Thursday, the No. 1 overall seed will be on the line when the Red Flash take on Robert Morris on Saturday, Feb. 29. If the teams finish with identical 13-5 records, Robert Morris would hold the tiebreaker over the Red Flash thanks to its win over Merrimack. Saint Francis can finish no lower than a two seed and has assured itself home court advantage through at least a semifinal. The good news for Saint Francis is it clinches the one seed with a win at Robert Morris, and if it wins its final two games, can secure the NEC regular-season title with a Merrimack loss at CCSU on Thursday. By doing so, it would secure a bid to the NIT.
 
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Players Mentioned

Isaiah Blackmon

#11 Isaiah Blackmon

G
6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
Sociology

Players Mentioned

Isaiah Blackmon

#11 Isaiah Blackmon

6' 1"
Redshirt Senior
Sociology
G
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