Saint Francis University (3-5) at University at Hartford (1-8)
Date | Time	Tuesday, December 14, 2021 | 7 p.m
Location	West Hartford, Conn. | Chase Arena
Television	ESPN+
Live Stats	SideArm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | Hartford
Stats	Saint Francis | Hartford | 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.	14.6	5.4	47.7	Averaging  14.5 pts, 5.5 rebs, 4.0 asts on current road trip
G	4	Ronell Giles, Jr.	6-4	185	So.	12.9	3.8	39.6	Averaging 12.5 pts, 4.0 rebs, 5.0 asts on current road trip
G	11	Maxwell Land	6-4	185	So	8.8	3.9	41.8	Leads Has 17 assists in 21-22 after 16 in 17 games in 20-21
F	5	Myles Thompson	6-6	220	Sr.	11.8	4.0	46.9	Scored at least eight pts in seven of eight games
F	33	Josh Cohen	6-10	220	R-So.	13.1	6.9	73.6	Ranks fourth in NCAA DI in field goal percentage
Off the Bench
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note
G	1	Zahree Harrison	6-0	190	So.	2.1	1.0	30.4	One of six players to appear in all eight games
G	3	Luke Ruggery	5-11	160	R-So.	2.3	1.1	27.8	Scored a career-high nine points against Bucknell
F	13	Marlon Hargis	6-7	205	Sr.	6.9	1.8	52.9	Averaging 8.3 points per game on the road
F	15	Chukwu Ikediashi	6-8	220	R-Jr.	1.0	3.0	100	Two rebounds against Bucknell
G	20	Brendan Scanlon	5-8	155	Fr.	1.0	1.0	50.0	First career assist against Bucknell
G	21	Ben Seidel	6-0	170	Jr.	0.0	0.0	0.0	Saw action in two games this season
G/F	22	Tyler Stewart	6-8	195	R-Sr.	--	--	--	Has not played in first eight games
G	23	A.J. Labriola	6-2	185	Sr.	0.0	1.0	0.0	Appeared in two games this season
G	31	Brad McCabe	6-6	185	r-Jr.	0.4	0.8	16.7	Scored first points of season against Bucknell
F	32	Jeriah Coleman	7-0	220	So.	2.7	1.6	66.7	Career-high seven points and rebounds vs. Bucknell
F	42	Mark Flagg	6-9	215	R-Sr.	5.7	6.3	43.2	Ranks in Top-10 in NEC in four categories

GAME NOTES VS. HARTFORD
need to know... The game between Saint Francis and Hartford marks the third  meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2009-10 season.
• The match up is also called the Jack Phelan Classic. Phelan was a Hall of Fame player for the Red Flash, and a Hall of Fame coach for the Hawks. He passed over the summer.
• The home team has won the previous two meetings in the series with the Loretto program taking a 64-52 decision in 2009-10 and the Hawks earning a 60-55 victory the following season.
• Saint Francis is 15-22 against current members of the America East, but that number is inflated because UMBC used to be a member of the NEC.
• Head coach Rob Krimmel is 3-10 against the America East.

a sfu win would... End a two-game losing streak.
• Earn a win in the inaugural Jack Phelan Classic.
• Be the team's third win in the last five games.
• Be the second win on the road.
• Be the first win this season that didn't occur in Pennsylvania or against a Pennsylvania team.

next on tap... Saint Francis wraps up its first of two four-game road trips at Illinois on Saturday.
• The Red Flash starts a three-game homestand and renews its rivalry with Robert Morris on Dec. 22. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since the Colonials defeated Saint Francis in the NEC Championship Game in 2020, and since Robert Morris left the conference for the Horizon League.

the word on the hawks... Hartford comes into the contest 1-8 after falling 95-78 at UNLV on Saturday.
• D.J. Mitchell paced four Hawks in double figures with 19 points. David Shriver (18 points), Austin Williams (15 points) and Austin Flowers (14 points) also found double figures in the contest.
• Williams leads the team with 15.4 points per game and has a team-best 26 assists.
• Moses Flowers leads the squad with 10 steals and sits second with 11.6 points per game.
• Hunter Marks is the team's top shot blocker with nine rejections and is the third member of the team averaging double figures (11.1 ppg.).
• Hartford's lone win on the season is a 68-55 win against Saint Francis' Northeast Conference foe St. Francis Brooklyn on Dec. 5.

last time we met... Hartford defeated Saint Francis 50-44 on Nov. 24, 2010 in West Hartford, Conn.
• Umar Shannon paced the Red Flash with 15 points, while Anthony Ervin added 10 points and six rebounds.
• Morgan Sabia powered the Hawks with 19 points. Joe Zeglinski (14 points) and Clayton Brothers (10 points) also found double figures.

last time out... American defeated Saint Francis 83-73 on Wednesday.
• Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen posted a career-high 23 points, along with eight rebounds against the Eagles.
• Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover notched his second highest point total of the season with 19 points, while adding five rebounds and three assists.
• Sophomore Ronell Giles, Jr. also found double figures with 13 points.
 
trending up... Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen is averaging 16.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in his last five games.
• During that stretch he has established or matched his career high three times and registered at least seven caroms in four of those games. Cohen posted 18 points and seven rebounds against Cornell on Nov. 24 and then matched his then career-best 18 points and added 10 rebounds for his second career double-double against Lehigh four days later to earn NEC Co-Player of the Week honors. In his last game, the redshirt sophomore had a career-high 23 points along with eight rebounds against American. Cohen, who matched redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover's season high with his performance against American, ranks second on the team with 13.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. The redshirt sophomore is averaging a team-best 14.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on the road this season.
• Dixon-Conover leads the team with 14.6 points per  game and has registered double figures in six games this season including the last four tilts. In that span, he has reached at least 16 points three times with a career-high 23 points against Bucknell on Dec. 1 and 19 points against American. In addition, he has registered at least three rebounds and three assists in each of his last four games, and he has tallied at least five rebounds four times and three assists in all seven games he has played this season.
• Sophomore Ronell Giles, Jr. has reached double figures in his last five games, and he needs one more 10+ game to match his six-straight games in double figures in the final six games of last season. Giles is averaging 14.6 points per game over his last five games. Dating back to the final six games last season, the sophomore has registered double figures in 12 of his last 14 games.
• Senior Myles Thompson has accumulated at least eight points in a game seven times this season with three games of at least 17 points. Thompson is averaging 14.3 points per game in wins this season, and moved over the 800 point threshold with eight points against American.
• Saint Francis as a team has posted 70 points in seven of the eighth games this season and 79 points four times. The squad is 3-1 when posting 79 points or more in 2021-22.
• In the second half of every game this year except for Virginia Tech, the Red Flash has shot at least 45.5 percent from the field in those contests. In addition, the squad has registered at least 58 percent in the last four contests in the second half with two of those performances boasting at least 60 percent in the final quarter.
non-conference slate.. The Northeast Conference schedule starts in four games and the team has recorded at least three wins in the non-conference schedule for the 18th time since joining the NEC.
• When the team wins at least three non-conference games, the squad has posted at least a .500 record in the circuit in 13 of the previous 17 occasions including eight 10-win seasons in league play.
• Under head coach Rob Krimmel, the squad has won at least three non-conference games from 2013-14 to 2019-20. The Loretto program finished 2014-15 and 2015-16 with a 9-9 record, and then won 11 (2016-17), 12 (2017-18, 2018-19) and 13 (2019-20) conference games in that span.
• In 2014-15 and 2017-18 the team participated in the CIT and in 2019-20 advanced to the NEC Championship Game.
• In 2018-19, Saint Francis started the year 3-4 and went on to win the NEC regular season, and play in the conference championship game and the NIT.

nutmeg spice only used mainly in the nec… Saint Francis is 60-64 against the state of Connecticut, but only 6-6 when it comes to full non-conference opponents.
• The Red Flash are a combined 54-58 against Northeast Conference foes Central Connecticut State (24-23) and Sacred Heart (22-16). In addition, the squad is 8-20 against Quinnipiac when it was a member of the league.
• The squad is 5-5 against Fairfield and 1-1 against Hartford in out-of-conference opponents.
• It will be the first non-conference regular season meeting against a team from the state since 2010-11 against Hartford.
• Saint Francis is 22-40 all-time in the state of Connecticut.

in the nec… Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen leads the conference in field goal percentage (73.6), and ranks third in the circuit in offensive rebounds (2.50), fourth in rebounding (6.9), seventh in free throw percentage (79.4), eighth in defensive rebounds (4.38) and ninth in scoring (13.1 ppg.).
• Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover ranks second in assists (4.14), second in assist/turnover ratio (2.42), third in steals (2.00), third in the scoring (14.6 ppg.), 10th in field goal percentage (47.7) and 10th in free throw percentage (75.0).
• Sophomore Ronell Giles, Jr. ranks 11th in scoring (12.9 ppg.), seventh in steals (1.50), and third in minutes played (33.75).
• Senior Myles Thompson ranks sixth in 3-point field goal percentage (47.8)and 15th in scoring (11.8 ppg.).
• Senior Mark Flagg ranks eighth in blocked shots (0.86), eighth in offensive rebounds (2.00), ninth in rebounding (6.3 rpg.) and ninth in defensive rebounds (4.29)
• Saint Francis ranks in the Top-5 in the Northeast Conference in 19 team categories, including pacing the league in scoring offense (78.4 ppg.), field goal percentage (46.0), assist/turnover ratio (1.18) and offensive rebound percentage (34.0).
• The Red Flash also ranks second in scoring margin (+3.0), second in free throw percentage (73.9), second in rebound margin (+3.5), second in rebounding offense (38.1), second in turnover margin (+3.12), second in offensive rebounds (12.38), third rebounding margin (+4.6), fourth in defensive rebound percentage (70.8), fourth in defensive rebounds (25.75), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (32.1), fourth in defensive rebounding (34.6), fourth in assists (14.00), fourth in steals (7.75), fifth in field goal defense (44.9) and fifth in blocked shots (3.00).

continuing where he left off... Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover was the team's leading scorer in 2020-21. He has posted double figures in 21 of the last 25 games he played including 20 of his last 23 games.
• Dixon-Conover has six 20-point performances, including a career-high 23 points against Bucknell on Dec. 1.
• The redshirt senior has 12 games with 17 points or more in his career.
• Dixon-Conover moved over 500 points in his career with his career-high performance against Bucknell. He also has over 200 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals for his career.

only flagg in name, not on his play... Redshirt senior Mark Flagg 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 40 points to start the year, Flagg now has 823 points for his career on his march toward 1,000 career points.
• He has notched six rejections to start the season to sit in third place in program history with 109 blocks. Flagg can move into second place with 28 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.
• Flagg also needs four assists to reach 100 for his career.
• According to KenPom, Flagg recorded a defensive rebound on 41 percent of George Washington's possessions.

career night... Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen notched a career-best 23 points against American on Dec. 8 after establishing a then career-best against Cornell on Nov. 24 and again against Lehigh on Nov. 28. Cohen had a career-best 11 boards against Franciscan on Nov. 15.
• Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover scored a career-best 23 points against Bucknell on Dec. 1.
• Redshirt sophomore Luke Ruggery posted a career-best nine points against Bucknell, while sophomore Jeriah Coleman had a personal-high seven points and seven rebounds against the Bison on Dec. 1.
• Senior Marlon Hargis has improved his best scoring output in the Red and Black in the last two games. After reaching a then-best 15 points against Virginia Tech on Nov. 18, Hargis scored two more points for 17 points against Cornell on Nov. 24. The senior's career high is 19 points against Harvard on Nov. 22, 2019 when he played for Holy Cross.
• Sophomore Maxwell Land posted a career-high 19 points against Franciscan on Nov. 15.
• Redshirt senior Mark Flagg hauled in a career-high 17 rebounds against George Washington on November 9.

benchmarks for success... Saint Francis is 3-4 this season when it reaches 70 points in a game, and 3-1 when it posted 79 points.
• Seventy is usually a magic number for success under head coach Rob Krimmel. The squad is 91-49 overall when it posts 70 on the scoreboard, including 42-35 (70-79 points), 37-12 (80-89 points), 12-2 (90-99 points) and 10-0 (over 100 points) in a game.
• The squad is also 104-30 when leading at halftime, and 91-54 when it had more free throws than the opponent.
• Defensively, the team is 72-31 when it allows under 69 points in a game. This season, the team is 3-0 after allowing 54 points against Franciscan,68 points to Lehigh and 67 points to Bucknell.

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.

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 six games with at least 20 points in his career. Dixon-Conover registered five 20-point performances in 2020-21 and notched his first one of the season in 2021-22 against Bucknell on Dec. 1.
• Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen joined the 20-point club after his career-high 23-point outburst against American on Dec. 8. The 23 points matched Dixon-Conover's total for the most points scored in a game this season by a Red Flash player.
• 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, and against Lehigh on Nov. 28.
• 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, and 18 points and 10 rebounds against Lehigh on Nov. 28.
• Flagg now has five double-doubles and Cohen has three double-doubles in their career. Senior Myles Thompson also has 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 boards against Franciscan and 10 caroms against Lehigh on Nov. 28.
• 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 (Johnstown) 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.