Red Flash hosts Terriers in two-game series
Miles McQuiggan
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's basketball team returns home to host St. Francis Brooklyn in a two-game series Thursday and Friday at DeGol Arena.
The Series: St. Francis Brooklyn (4-7, 4-6 NEC) at Saint Francis (5-12, 4-9 NEC)
Location: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)
Game 1: Thursday, Feb. 11 – 7 p.m.
Watch: NEC Front Row (
Pat Farabaugh, Tom Fox)
Live Stats: Sidearm Sports
Game 1: Friday, Feb. 12 – 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 TERRIERS
St. Francis Brooklyn is 4-7 on the year and 4-6 in NEC play, having opened its conference slate 4-2 before a recent four-game slide. The Terriers split series with Bryant and Central Connecticut before sweeping Mount St. Mary's. The series against the Mountaineers was followed by a 22-day gap in competition, after which St. Francis Brooklyn dropped two games against both Wagner and LIU.
Travis Atson, a grad transfer by way of Quinnipiac and Tulsa, leads the Terriers in scoring (14.9 ppg) and is second in rebounding (7.1). Chauncey Hawkins, Rob Higgins, and Unique McLean have all added double-digit scoring averages in Glenn Braica's 11th season at the helm.
SERIES HISTORY
The two NEC charter members who share a Franciscan namesake have met 85 times in a series that began in the 1929-30 season. In that contest, Saint Francis of Loretto won 25-18 in William Donahue's final season as head coach.
The Red Flash have won six of the last eight against the Terriers, splitting last season's series thanks to a buzzer-beater from
Randall Gaskins, Jr. for an 81-80 win in Loretto.
Myles Thompson scored 18 points in the meeting in Brooklyn.
FRANCISCAN FACTS
The Northeast Conference's two Franciscan institutions are two of four Division I schools among the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities. The Red Flash are the lone D1 member outside of New York State, as the Terriers are joined by St. Bonaventure and Siena.
LAST TIME OUT: MERRIMACK 59, SAINT FRANCIS 54
Merrimack held Saint Francis to a season-low in field-goal percentage Friday in North Andover. The Red Flash was a season-best plus-13 in rebounding despite the defeat.
RAMIIR'S HERE
After gaining experience behind some of the Red Flash's most decorated guards, senior
Ramiir Dixon-Conover is making the most of his opportunity this winter.
Dixon-Conover is 11th in the NEC in conference games in scoring (15.3), third in assists (4.5), and fourth in steals (2.1). The 2.1 steals per game rank 27th nationally.
MARK'S NOTABLE MARKS
Senior
Mark Flagg became the sixth player in program history to reach 100 career blocks in Thursday's contest against Merrimack. With two rejections, Flagg moved within four of Emmanuel Adekunle and Earl Brown for fourth in program history.
Flagg reached the 500-rebound plateau in the win over Fairleigh Dickinson. Flagg stands at 522 career rebounds entering the week.
NO FOUL, NO HARM
Redshirt sophomore
Bryce Laskey is one of the best in the nation at not fouling his opponents, per KenPom. Laskey has been assessed 1.19 fouls per 40 minutes this season, which ranks 11th nationally.
COHEN GETS GOIN'
Redshirt freshman
Josh Cohen tallied a career-high 13 points Thursday over 29 minutes - also a career-high - in his first start in a Red Flash uniform.
Cohen, who averaged 6.1 minutes per game through January 14, has played 17.3 minutes and 6.2 rebounds per contest since the second Bryant game the following night. He ranks ninth in the NEC in offensive rebounding average in conference play (2.3).
MARLON, MAN
Junior
Marlon Hargis has made an immediate impact in a Red Flash uniform. The Holy Cross transfer scored 14 points and added seven rebounds in his debut - a win over Bryant - and followed with 12 and eight the next day. Hargis shot 45% from the field and was 8-of-9 from the line.
Hargis is averaging 8.5 points per game on 51.7% from the field and 80.8% from the free-throw line in his first 10 games for Saint Francis.
ZERO-POINT LINE
Saint Francis enters the week 55th nationally in three-point defense at 30.3%. St. Francis Brooklyn has allowed 39.9% of threes to fall, which is the fifth-highest rate nationally.
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
Ramiir Dixon-Conover leads the Red Flash with 12 games of 10+ points this season.
NEXT UP: WAGNER
Saint Francis will play its final road series of the regular season when the Red Flash travels to Staten Island for two games at Wagner on February 20-21.
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.
