Saint Francis begins key stretch by hosting Fairleigh Dickinson
Miles McQuiggan
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team begins a stretch of four home games in six days when the Red Flash hosts Fairleigh Dickinson for a two-game series Tuesday and Wednesday at DeGol Arena.
The Red Flash and Knights both aim to make up ground in the NEC standings in a pair of make-up games originally scheduled for mid-December.
The Series: Fairleigh Dickinson (2-8, 1-3 NEC) at Saint Francis (3-8, 2-5 NEC)
Location: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)
Game 1: Tuesday, Jan. 26 – 7 p.m.
Watch: NEC Front Row (
Pat Farabaugh, Tom Fox)
Live Stats: Sidearm Sports
Game 2: Wednesday, Jan. 27 – 4 p.m.
Watch: NEC Front Row (
Pat Farabaugh, Tom Fox)
Live Stats: Sidearm Sports
Game Notes: Saint Francis
Social Media: Facebook |
Twitter |
Instagram | #NECMBB
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Fairleigh Dickinson is 2-8 on the year with wins over Central Connecticut and Fairfield. The Knights returned to action Thursday after a month away from competition and dropped both ends of a back-to-back at Merrimack. FDU has utilized nine different players in its starting lineup this season, including seven who have started three or more contests.
The majority of the FDU offense has come from the trio of Brandon Rush, Jahlil Jenkins, and Elyjah Williams, who are each averaging 14 points per game. Rush ranks 16th nationally in three-point percentage at 47.1.
SERIES HISTORY
The Red Flash and Knights have met 95 times in a series that dates back to the 1954-55 season. Home court has been beneficial in the matchups between the two NEC charter members, as each team is 28-17 within the confines of its own gym.
Saint Francis and Fairleigh Dickinson met just once last season in an ESPNU game in Hackensack.
Isaiah Blackmon scored 25 points and
Tyler Stewart added 19 as the Red Flash reached the century mark in a 100-85 victory.
The contest will be the Knights' first visit to DeGol Arena since the 2019 NEC Championship title game.
LAST TIME OUT: SACRED HEART 82, SAINT FRANCIS 70
Senior
Ramiir Dixon-Conover tallied 18 points and a career-high eight rebounds, but Sacred Heart improved to 4-0 in the second game of a back-to-back and split the two-game series with the Red Flash Friday in Fairfield.
5-1-THREES
Freshman
Maxwell Land is shooting 56.2% from beyond the arc this season. Land's 32 attempts do not meet the minimum NCAA qualification, but per KenPom, he ranks fifth nationally among players who have played 40% of their team's minutes and attempted at least two threes per game.
ZERO-POINT LINE
Saint Francis enters the week fifth nationally in three-point defense at 26.7%. Fairleigh Dickinson is second in the NEC at 35.9% on three-point attempts.
COHEN GETS GOIN'
Redshirt freshman
Josh Cohen followed a nine-point, eight-rebound performance against Bryant with his first career double-double in Thursday's win over Sacred Heart. Cohen's 11 and 10 on the box score made him the fourth Red Flash player with a double-double this season, joining seniors
Ramiir Dixon-Conover and
Mark Flagg and junior
Myles Thompson.
THE NEW GUYS
Red Flash freshmen have played 44.9% of the team's minutes this year against a strength of schedule that includes the No. 29 non-conference slate.
The backcourt trio of
Maxwell Land,
Zahree Harrison, and
Ronell Giles, Jr. have contributed the majority of that time with Land starting all 11 games and Harrison making three starts.
Land, Harrison, and Giles are joined by
Josh Cohen,
Jeriah Coleman,
Brad McCabe, and
Luke Ruggery as freshmen to appear in a game this season. All seven have scored in at least one game.
PRODUCTION COMPANY
A year removed from graduating the program's two leading scorers, nine different Saint Francis players have produced a 10-point effort this season.
Senior
Mark Flagg and freshman
Maxwell Land lead the Red Flash with seven games each in double figures.
FOUR SCORES
Freshman
Ronell Giles, Jr. has had a pair of impressive offensive showings in the month of January.
Giles scored 19 points in SFU's return to action on Jan. 7 and topped that with 21 points in 29 minutes to help the Red Flash defeat Bryant. Giles' 21 points against the Bulldogs were the most by a Red Flash freshman since
Keith Braxton scored 22 in the 2017 NEC Quarterfinal win over Bryant.
MARK APPROACHING NOTABLE MARKS
Senior
Mark Flagg enters the week two blocks away from the 100th of his career. The rejection would make Flagg the sixth player in program history to record 100 blocks, with
Josh Nebo the last to accomplish the feat in 2017.
Flagg is seven blocks back of Earl Brown and Emmanuel Adekunle, who are tied for fourth with 105 blocks each. The senior also stands 10 rebounds shy of 500 entering Tuesday's game.
NEXT UP: CENTRAL CONNECTICUT
Saint Francis will have two days between series to prepare for a visit from Central Connecticut. The Red Flash and Blue Devils will square off Saturday and Sunday at DeGol Arena with both games available on NEC Front Row.
Follow Saint Francis Men's Basketball on
Facebook,
Twitter and
Instagram to get up-to-date information and a behind-the-scenes look at the Red Flash.
To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit
francis.edu.
