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Loretto, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team (14-8, 7-4 NEC) looks to build off its most recent 2-0 week with road games at Sacred Heart on Thursday, Feb. 6, and Wagner on Saturday, Feb. 8. Thursday's tip is scheduled for 7 p.m, while Saturday's is set for 4 p.m.
 
Scouting Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart holds a half-game lead over the Red Flash for second place entering Thursday's matchup. Both teams enter the meeting with 14 overall wins and top the Northeast Conference with identical +4.7 scoring margins. It's hard to spot a weakness with the Pioneers as they are third in the league in scoring offense and second in field goal pct. defense. Sacred Heart also leads the league with a +5.5 rebounding margin, while Saint Francis is second at +3.3. Junior E.J. Anosike leads Sacred Heart and is sixth in the league in scoring at 15.7 ppg. He's also the league-leader in rebounding at 11.1 per contest. Sophomore Koreem Ozier is also in the top 10 in the league in scoring at 15.3 ppg. Redshirt senior Ja'rel Spellman is a force at the rim with 59 blocks over 23 games.
 
Series History
 
Saint Francis is 10-4 against the Pioneers under head coach Rob Krimmel and leads the overall series 19-15. The Red Flash defeated Sacred Heart 72-65 in Loretto on Jan. 18. Senior Keith Braxton (Glassboro, N.J./Delsea) led the way with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Scouting Wagner
 
Wagner is in a battle for one of the league's eight playoff spots with a 2-7 conference mark. The Seahawks are led by grad transfer Curtis Cobb at 17.3 ppg, good for fourth in the conference. Cobb is making 37.9% of his three-pointers, the eighth best clip in the NEC. Junior Alex Morales is second on the team in scoring at 13.6 ppg and seventh in the league in assists at 3.7 per game.
 
Series History
 
Saint Francis defeated Wagner 80-62 on Jan. 9, but the final score doesn't tell the entire story. The Red Flash trailed 38-30 on its home court at halftime before closing the game on a 50-24 run over the final 20 minutes for 38-37 all-time series lead. The Red Flash are 6-9 vs. Wagner under Krimmel.
 
Dixon-Conover Delivering
 
Junior Ramiir Dixon-Conover (Newark, N.J./South Kent) is playing the best basketball of his Saint Francis career over the last two weeks, averaging 10.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.8 apg and 3.3 spg over the last four contests. With a shortened bench, Dixon-Conover was promoted to a starting role over the last two games, delivering to the tune of 14.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 4.5 spg. He went 10-15 from the field and 5-8 from three-point range, despite entering the week 0-8 on the season. Perhaps Dixon-Conover's biggest impact on the game can be seen on the defensive end. He ranks sixth in the NEC at 1.45 steals per game, despite averaging just 19.2 minutes per game.
 
Tight at The Top
 
Saint Francis currently sits in fourth place in the NEC standings, but can pass Sacred Heart for third place with a win Thursday night. Merrimack leads the league at 9-1, but is ineligible for the conference tournament. Thus, the Red Flash would currently be the three seed if the conference tournament started tomorrow. Robert Morris would be the top seed, leading Saint Francis by 1.5 games, but the teams are scheduled to meet twice over the final two weeks of the season.