Men's Basketball 11/17/2021 12:10:00 PM

Saint Francis Men's Basketball Starts Three-Game Trek At Virginia Tech On Thursday

Saint Francis University (1-1) at Virginia Tech University (3-0)
Date \| Time	Thursday, November 18, 2021 \| 8:00 p.m
Location	Blacksburg, Va. \| Cassell Coliseum
Television	ACC Network (Mike Monaco and Paul Biancardi) \| ESPN Link
Radio	Radio Link
Live Stats	SideArm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis \| Virginia Tech \| Game Program
Stats	Saint Francis \| Virginia Tech \| Northeast Conference
Social Media	@RedFlashMBB \| #BELIEVE \| @RedFlashMBB \| Facebook

Saint Francis Probable Starters
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note
G	2	Ramiir Dixon-Conover	6-3	185	R-Sr.	15.0	7.0	50.0	At least 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals in last five games
G	4	Ronell Giles, Jr.	6-4	185	So.	11.5	3.0	33.3	Projected to make his first start against an ACC team
G	11	Maxwell Land	6-4	185	So	14.0	5.0	47.6	Coming off a career-high 19 points performance
F	5	Myles Thompson	6-6	220	Sr.	13.0	4.0	47.4	Averaging 13.4 points per game in games vs. ACC
F	42	Mark Flagg	6-9	215	R-Sr.	14.0	13.5	57.9	Coming off back-to-back double-doubles
Off the Bench
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note
G	1	Zahree Harrison	6-0	190	So.	3.5	1.0	28.6	Dished out three assists in both games this year
G	3	Luke Ruggery	5-11	160	R-So.	2.0	3.0	0.0	Two points, three rebounds in season debut on 11/15
F	13	Marlon Hargis	6-7	205	Sr.	2.0	1.0	25,0	First game against an ACC opponent with SFU
F	15	Chukwu Ikediashi	6-8	220	R-Jr.	2.0	4.0	100	Two points, 4 rebounds in first action since 2019-20
G	20	Brendan Scanlon	5-8	155	Fr.	2.0	2.0	50.0	Two points, two rebounds in collegiate debut on 11/15
G	21	Ben Seidel	6-0	170	Jr.	0.0	0.0	0.0	Saw first action of season on 11/15
G/F	22	Tyler Stewart	6-8	195	R-Sr.	--	--	--	Has not played in first two games
G	23	A.J. Labriola	6-2	185	Sr.	0.0	1.0	0.0	Saw first action of the season on 11/15
G	31	Brad McCabe	6-6	185	r-Jr.	0.0	2.0	0.0	Career-high three rebounds, two assists on 11/15
F	32	Jeriah Coleman	7-0	220	So.	5.0	2.0	66.7	Career-high five points on 11/15
F	33	Josh Cohen	6-10	220	R-So.	7.5	6.0	66.7	11 points, career-high 11 boards on 11/15

GAME NOTES VS. VIRGINIA TECH
need to know... The game between Saint Francis and Virginia Tech marks the third meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1950-51 season.
• The series is tied at one game apiece after the Red Flash defeated the Hokies 73-65 in 1950-51 before the Blackburg program earned a 75-37 decision in 2018-19.
• Head coach Rob Krimmel will face an Atlantic Coast Conference team for the sixth time. The Red Flash are 1-4 against the conference.
• Saint Francis defeated Pittsburgh 80-70 in the season opener last season. The team has also played Florida State, Louisville, Virginia and Virginia Tech under Krimmel.
• Under Krimmel, the Red Flash are also 1-3 against the Big Ten and 0-1 against the Big 12, Big East, SEC, Pac-12 and American Athletic Conference.

a sfu win would... Give head coach Rob Krimmel his third win against in big program after defeating Pittsburgh last season and Rutgers in 2014-15.
• Be the first road win of the season for the Red Flash. The squad opened the season with a 75-72 loss at George Washington.

next on tap... The Red Flash will have five days before its game at Cornell on Wednesday. It is the second time this season the squad has had five days to prepare for an opponent.
• After the Big Red, the team will close out the month of November at Lehigh on November 29.
• Saint Francis will open the month of December with a home contest against Bucknell on December 1.

the word on the hokies... Virginia Tech comes into the contest 3-0 after defeating Radford 65-39 on Monday.
• Storm Murphy (17 points), Justyn Mutts (11 points) and Keve Aluma (10 points) all scored double figures against the Highlanders.
• Keve Aluma leads the team with 12.7 points per game. Mutts fuels the team in rebounding with 7.3 rebounds per game, and ranks second in scoring on the squad (11.7 ppg.). Murphy (11.0 ppg.) and Hunter Cattoor (10.3 ppg.) are also averaging double figures.

last time we met... No. 14 Virginia Tech defeated Saint Francis 75-37 on November 24, 2018.
• Myles Thompson was the only player in double figures for the Red Flash with 14 points, along with seven rebounds. Keith Braxton added eight points.
• Ahmed Hill powered the Hokies with 19 points. Tyler Law (15 points), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (11 points), Justin Robinson (10 points) also found double figures.
• The game against Virginia Tech in 2018 ended a brutal three-game stretch against No. 20 UCLA and No. 7 North Carolina.

last time out... Sophomore Maxwell Land scored a career-high 19 points to lead Saint Francis past Franciscan 100-54.
• Senior Myles Thompson, (17 points), sophomore Ronell Giles, Jr. (14 points), redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover (13 points), redshirt senior Mark Flagg (11 points, 10 rebounds) and sophomore Josh Cohen (11 points, 11 rebounds) also reached double figures in the 100-point effort.
• Saint Francis registered 100 points in a game for the 10th time under head coach Rob Krimmel. It was the seventh time the team has scored 100 points against a non-Division I opponent.

start to the season... Saint Francis looks to begin the season 2-1 for the 20th time since the 1950-51 season.
• With a win, the team would be 2-1 under head coach Rob Krimmel for the second time and the first since 2015-16
• With a loss, the team would open the season 1-2 for the 37th time in team history and the sixth-straight year and eighth time in the Krimmel era.

prime performers... Redshirt seniors Ramiir Dixon-Conover and Mark Flagg were named Northeast Conference Prime Performers for their efforts against George Washington on November 9.
• Flagg registered 17 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in the game, including 11 points and eight rebounds in the first half. Dixon-Conover tallied 17 points and eight rebounds in the contest.

only flagg in name, not on his play... Redshirt senior Mark Flagg has started his final season in red and black with back to back double-doubles after posting 17 points and a career-high 17 rebounds against George Washington on Nov. 9, and 11 points and 10 rebounds against Franciscan on Nov, 15. It is the second time in his career he has posted consecutive double-doubles.
• With his 28 points to start the year, Flagg now 811 points for his career on his march toward 1,000 career points.
• He also had two blocks in his last two games to move into fourth place on the program's all-time career rejection list with 107 blocks. Flagg can move into a third-place tie with Jerry Mack (109, 1985-89) with two rejections.
• Flagg is now one of six players with 100 blocks, and if he reaches 110 knock aways he would be only the third player in team history with 110 blocks.
• According to KenPom, Flagg recorded a defensive rebound on 41 percent of George Washington's possessions.

continuing where he left off... Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover was the team's leading scorer in 2020-21. He posted double figures in 16 of the last 19 games he played including 14 of his last 15 games.
• Dixon-Conover had five 20-point performances last season, and nine games with at least 18 points.
• He has at least nine points, five rebounds and three assists in his last five games and is averaging 16.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game in that span.

career night... Sophomore Maxwell Land posted a career-high 19 points against Franciscan on Nov. 15. Fellow sophomore Josh Cohen also hauled in a career-best 11 boards against the Barons.
• Redshirt senior Mark Flagg hauled in a career-high 17 rebounds against George Washington on November 9.

first collegiate points... Freshman Brendan Scanlon, the lone newcomer on the team, notched his first collegiate action against Franciscan on Nov. 15. The freshman registered a pair of rebounds and received a huge ovation when he scored off the glass with 27 seconds left for his first collegiate points.

benchmarks for success... Saint Francis is 1-1 this season when it reaches 70 points in a game.
• Seventy is usually a magic number for success under head coach Rob Krimmel. The squad is 89-46 overall when it posts 70 on the scoreboard, including 41-33 (70-79 points), 37-11 (80-89 points), 11-2 (90-99 points) and 10-0 (over 100 points) in a game.
• The squad is also 103-30 when leading at halftime, and 91-52 when it had more free throws than the opponent.
• Defensively, the team is 70-31 when it allows under 69 points in a game. This season, the team is 1-0 after allowing 54 points against Franciscan.

preseason poll... Saint Francis was picked eighth in the Northeast Conference preseason poll. Wagner College received seven of the 10 first place votes to be selected as the preseason favorite. Bryant University picked up two first place nods to finish second, while Mount St. Mary's University earned the final first place selection to place fourth. Long Island University, Merrimack College, Sacred Heart University, St. Francis Brooklyn, the Red Flash, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Central Connecticut State rounded out the 10-team poll.

captain, my captain... Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover, senior Myles Thompson and sophomore Luke Ruggery have been named team captains for the 2021-22 season.
• Dixon-Conover and Thompson were also team captains in 2020-21.

20-point club... Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover leads the team with five games with at least 20 points in his career. Dixon-Conover registered four 20-point performances in 2020-21 and one in 2029-20.
• Redshirt seniors Mark Flagg and Tyler Stewart, and senior Myles Thompson both have one 20-point performance in their career. Flagg posted his 20-point game in 2018-19 while Stewart and Thompson both recorded their 20-point game in 2019-20.
• Sophomore Ronell Giles, Jr. posted two 20-point games last year with his career-best 21 points in the first match up against Bryant.

double vision... Redshirt senior Mark Flagg posted double-doubles in his first two games this season, while sophomore Josh Cohen turned the trick against Franciscan on Nov. 15.
• Flagg posted the first double-double of this season with 17 points and 17 rebounds against George Washington on November 9, and followed that performance up with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Franciscan. Cohen had 11 points and a career-best 11 rebounds against Franciscan.
• Flagg now has five double-doubles and Cohen has a pair of double-doubles. Senior Myles Thompson and each have three career double-doubles.
• Cohen, Flagg and Thompson each have double-doubles that are points and rebounds. Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover has two double-doubles in his career, one with points and rebounds and one that is with points and assists against Bryant last season.

boards up... Redshirt senior Mark Flagg has six double-digit rebound games in his career with two coming this season, including a career-high 17 caroms against George Washington on November 9.
• Sophomore Josh Cohen has two career 10+ rebound games, including a career-best 11 board against Franciscan.
• Senior Myles Thompson ranks second on the team with three 10+ rebound games.

within hop, skip and a jump of loretto... Saint Francis has three local players on the team. Senior A.J. Labriola (Altoona), junior Ben Seidel and redshirt sophomore Luke Ruggery (Duncansville) all hail from within 30 minutes of the Saint Francis campus.

flash return... Saint Francis returns all, but two players from last year's team.
• The squad returns 91 percent of its minutes, points and rebounds from last year.
• The Red Flash also returns its Top-6 scorers from 2020-21 with redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover leading the way with 15.5 points per game and senior Myles Thompson ranking second with 10.1 points per game. Redshirt senior Mark Flagg led the team on the boards with 6.0 rebounds per game.

coaches dream team... Head coach Rob Krimmel has assembled a coaching staff with strong ties to Saint Francis.
• Krimmel, a 2000 graduate of Saint Francis, was an Academic All-American.
• Assistant coach Eric Taylor, a 1998 graduate, was a three-time All-NEC selection, ranks 23rd in program history in points (1,287) and fifth in rebounding (967).
• Graduate assistants Ronnie Drinnon, an All-NEC first team selection as a senior and Jamaal King, who was named to the all-conference first team in his last two seasons, both played for Krimmel and also have etched their name into Saint Francis lore. King ranks 10th in program history in points (1,517 points) while Drinnon is 11th in rebounding (804). Drinnon graduated from Saint Francis in 2016 and King graduated in 2019.
• Assistant coach Luke McConnell, a 2012 Saint Francis graduate, played on the Red Flash football team as a student-athlete. McConnell is the son of former Saint Francis men's basketball head coach Tom McConnell (1992-99), while his cousin T.J. McConnell is in his seventh season in the NBA.

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