Central Connecticut State (4-14, 2-4 NEC) at Saint Francis University (5-12, 1-5 NEC)
Date | Time	Friday, January 21, 2022 | 7 p.m
Location	Loretto, Pa. | DeGol Arena
Television	Dave Popkin (Play-by-Play), Joe DeSantis (color analyst) | ESPN +
Live Stats	SideArm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | CCSU | Digital Game Program
Stats	Saint Francis | CCSU | 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.	12.9	4.9	41.0	Averaging 12.5 points per game in last four contests vs CCSU
G	11	Maxwell Land	6-4	185	So.	10.2	4.4	39.1	Scored double figures in six of his last eight games
F	13	Marlon Hargis	6-6	205	Sr	7.2	2.6	46.4	Averaging 10.5 pts and 5.5 rebs per game as a starter
F	33	Josh Cohen	6-10	220	R-So.	11.1	6.1	63.5	Recorded double figures in last three games
F	42	Mark Flagg	6-9	215	R-Sr.	4.5	5.4	41.0	Needs 18 rebounds to join Top-20
Off the Bench
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note
G	1	Zahree Harrison	6-0	190	So.	1.9	1.0	28.9	NEC career-best three steals against Merrimack
G	3	Luke Ruggery	5-11	160	R-So.	2.2	0.8	26.5	Registered five points against Merrimack on Saturday
F	4	Ronell Giles, Jr.	6-4	185	So.	11.5	3.7	37.9	Ranks second on the team in scoring
F	5	Myles Thompson	6-6	220	Sr.	11.2	3.6	42.7	Needs 20 points for 900 points
F	15	Chukwu Ikediashi	6-8	220	R-Jr.	1.0	3.0	100	Appeared in two games, both at home
G	20	Brendan Scanlon	5-8	155	Fr.	0.7	0.7	50.0	Played in last two games
G	21	Ben Seidel	6-0	170	Jr.	0.7	0.0	50..0	Played in last two games
G/F	22	Tyler Stewart	6-8	195	R-Sr.	--	--	--	Has not played in first 17 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.	0.3	0.7	14.3	Appeared in six games this season
F	32	Jeriah Coleman	7-0	220	So.	2.7	1.6	60.0	Ranks eighth in NEC in blocks (0.86 bpg)

GAME NOTES VS. CCSU

need to know... The game between Saint Francis and Central Connecticut State marks the 38th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1994-95 season.
• The Red Flash have won seven of the last nine meetings to grab a 24-13 edge in the all-time series.
• Saint Francis is 16-9 at DeGol Arena against the Blue Devils while head coach Rob Krimmel is 8-2 in his home arena against the Connecticut program.
• The two teams split the season series last year in Loretto with Saint Francis taking the first meeting 62-59 on Jan. 30 and then Central Connecticut State took the second game 85-77 to end the Red Flash's six game winning streak against the Blue Devils.
• The Blue Devils head coach Patrick Sellers will face the Loretto program for the first time as a head coach.

a sfu win would... Be the second NEC win
• Be the first home win of 2022
• End a three-game losing streak at DeGol Arena, the longest since 2013-14. If the squad falls to CCSU it would be the first time since 2013-14 it lost four in a row at home
• Avoids its first two-game losing streak against CCSU since 2011-12

next on tap... The Red Flash has six of its eight games on the road in the month of January.
• Saint Francis will host Sacred Heart on Sunday.
• The team will wrap up the month of January at Wagner (Jan. 27) and at the Mount (Jan. 29).
• While the majority of January is on the road, five of the eight games in February are at home including five of the first six games of the second month of the year.

the word on the blue devils... Central Connecticut State comes into the contest 4-14 overall  and 2-4 in Northeast Conference action after falling 74-66 to Sacred Heart on Monday.
• Nigel Scantlebury paced the Blue Devils with 17 points against the Pioneers. Ian Krishnan (13 points) and Trenton  McLaughlin (13 points) also found double figures.
• Scantlebury leads the team in scoring (12.3 ppg) and assists (51), while ranking third in steals (17)
• Krishnan ranks second in scoring (10.7 ppg.), while Andre Snoddy fuels the teams in rebounding (6.8 rpg.) and blocks (12), and ranks third with 7.6 points per game.

last time we met... After defeating Central Connecticut State 89-82 on Jan. 30, the Blue Devils earned a split with an 85-73 win in Loretto on Jan. 31.
• Maxwell Land fueled the Red Flash with 16 points, while Ramiir Dixon-Conover (14 points), Bryce Laskey (13 points), Marlon Hargis (12 points) and Myles Thompson (11 points) all found double figures for the Red Flash.
• Myles Baker led the Bulldogs with 24 points off the bench. Tre Mitchell added 19 points, also off the bench in the win.

last time out... Bryant defeated Saint Francis 82-52 on Monday.
• Senior Myles Thompson paced the team with 14 points, while redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen added 10 points in the loss.

national ranking... Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover ranks 34th in steals with 2.06 thefts per game in NCAA Division I.
• Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen ranks 38th in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage through games on Tuesday. Cohen is in the rankings based on three made field goals per game with his 63.5 percent. The redshirt sophomore sat in second place for the week prior to the Illinois game for five made field goals per game.
• The team also ranks in the Top-100 nationally in three categories. The squad is 70th in offensive rebounds per game.

trending up... For the first time in 2022, Saint Francis will be at home after a four-game road trip. Dating back to December 4, the Red Flash went on the road for two four-game road trips and spent 22 of 45 days on the road.
• Senior Myles Thompson led the team in scoring for the second time this season and has posted 14 or more points in six of his seven double-figure performances this season. He now has 880 points and needs 20 to reach 900 points in his career. Thompson has posted double figures in three of his last six tilts and is averaging 11.0 points per game in that span.
• Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen registered double figures in the last three games that he has played and is averaging 12.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in that stretch. Cohen has hit at least three field goals 11 times this season and is shooting 66.7 percent from the field when he reaches that mark. He is shooting 33.3 percent when he makes less than three shots a game. Cohen is averaging 13.9 points per game when he has three field goals in a tilt.
• Senior Marlon Hargis has registered two 15-point performances in his last six games and has five double figure performances this season. After not playing more than 21 minutes in non-conference, the senior has played at least 31 minutes three times since the start of conference and is averaging 26.1 minutes per game in league play.
• Sophomore Jeriah Coleman has 18 career blocks and has registered 10 in his last four games, including a career-high three rejections in his last two games against LIU on Jan. 8 and against Merrimack on Jan, 15. Coleman has 11 blocks in conference games and ranks fourth with 1.80 blocks per game in league games. The sophomore established a career-high eight points and matched his best rebound output of seven boards against Bryant on Monday. After averaging 1.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game in his first 25 games of his career, Coleman has produced 6.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in his last four games.
•Since the end of the previous four-game road trip, sophomore Maxwell Land has posted double figures in five of his last seven contests. The sophomore has also registered at least five rebounds in six of his last seven tilts, including matching a career-best nine boards for the second time against Merrimack on Saturday. Land is averaging 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game since Dec. 22. Land is averaging 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game at home.
• Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover leads the team with 13.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game at DeGol Arena. Despite being held to single digits in his last two home tilts, the redshirt senior does have two of his 20-point performances at home including a career-high 23 points against Bucknell on Dec. 1. Dixon-Conover is averaging 14.0 points per game in the next game after being held to single digits.
• The four game NEC road trip marked the eighth time the squad was away from Loretto for four-straight games. The Red Flash finished 1-3 on the road trip for the sixth time while the other two occasions the team went 0-4.

for starters... Saint Francis used its fourth different starting lineup combination in its last two games. Despite using four different combinations, only eight players have heard their name in the starting lineup.
• Sophomore Maxwell Land is the only player to start all 17 games this season.
• The game against Merrimack was the first time that a new lineup debuted with a win. The other three combinations lost their first game together.
• Land, sophomore Zahree Harrison and senior Marlon Hargis are the only players to appear in every game this season.
• The Red Flash has had all of its top rotational players available for 10 games this season. The squad is 4-6 in those games, while averaging 73.2 points per game.
• When one of those players is missing the team is 1-6 and averaging 64.9 points per game. The win was against Merrimack on Jan. 15.
• Saint Francis had all of its rotational pieces for nine of the 11 non-conference games, but has had a piece missing in five of the six games in league play.
• The team went from averaging 77.2 points per game in November to 70.4 points per game in December to 59.3 points per game in January. The squad was the top scoring team throughout the non-conference season and was ranked in the Top-100 of NCAA Division I.

home, sweet home, loretto... Saint Francis is 76-50 at DeGol Arena under head coach Rob Krimmel.
• The Red Flash is 50-32 in Northeast Conference play at home, and 26-18 in non-conference action.
• Saint Francis is 2-3 this season at home after losing its last three at DeGol Arena. Its the first time since 2013-14 the squad has lost three-straight in Loretto.
• The Red Flash averaged 96.5 points per game in the first two games in Loretto, but averaged 64.3 points per game in its last three-game homestand.
• The Loretto program has registered a winning season at home from 2014 to 2020, and the squad posted at least a non-losing season in each of those campaigns.
in the nec… Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover ranks second in steals (2.07), fourth in assists (3.80), fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.46),  fifth in minutes played (33.27) and 10th in the scoring (13.3 ppg.).
• Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen leads the conference in field goal percentage (64.0),and ranks fourth in the circuit in offensive rebounds (2.50).
• Sophomore Ronell Giles, Jr. ranks 10th in steals (1.60) and 20th in scoring (11.5 ppg.).
• Senior Myles Thompson ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage (48.8) .
• Sophomore Jeriah Coleman has moved into eighth in blocked shots (0.86), while sophomore Maxwell Land is ninth in minutes played (31.88)
• Saint Francis ranks in the Top-5 in the Northeast Conference in 14 team categories
• After leading the conference for the majority of the non-conference slate in scoring offense, the Red Flash have dropped to fourth with 70.9 points per game.
• The Red Flash also ranks second in offensive rebounds (11.88), third in assist/turnover ratio (1.04), fourth in field goal percentage (42.7), third in turnover margin (+1.69), fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (32.9), fourth in steals (7.19), fifth in rebounding defense (36.8), fifth in defensive rebounds (24.50), fifth in rebounding offense (36.4), fifth in assists (13.13), fifth in blocked shots (2.94) and fifth in offensive rebound percentage (31.5).

yada, yada yada... ramiir stuffed the stat sheet... There is a lot to fall in love with in redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover's game.
•  He has posted double figures in 11 of the 16 games he has played this season, and has reached double figures in 25 of his last 31 games. He has recorded double figures 30 times in his career.
• For the first time in the last two years, the redshirt senior has been held to single digits in four of his last six games.
• Dixon-Conover is a stat stuffer and has grabbed five rebounds 25 times in his career including 10 times this season.
• He also has 13 games this season with at least three assists and 47 in his career, and 11 games with at least two steals in 2020-21 and 39 times in his career.
• Dixon-Conover became the sixth player in the nation to register 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in a game against a Division I opponent against Hartford on Dec. 18. He had a career-high six steals in the tilt against the Hawks.
• Dixon-Conover has eight 20-point performances, including three times this year. He registered a career-high 23 points against Bucknell on Dec. 1 along with 20 points against Robert Morris on Dec 23 and 21 points against LIU on Jan. 8.
• The redshirt senior has 14 games with 18 points or more in his career.
• Dixon-Conover moved over 600 points in his career in the first half against St. Francis Brooklyn on Jan. 6 and now has 647 career points.
• Dixon-Conover also has 263 rebounds, 231 assists and 114 steals in his career.

march to some milestones... Redshirt senior Mark Flagg and senior Myles Thompson continue their march up the career charts.
• Flagg ranks third in program history with 113 career blocks, and is one of three players in program history to have 110 rejections.
•The redshirt senior grabbed his 600th career rebound in the first half against Illinois on Dec. 18, and currently has 635 caroms. He needs 18 rebounds to join the program's Top-20 list for career rebounds, and tie William Saller (653, 1952-56) for 20th in team history.
• Flagg has 852 career points, and needs 148 points to reach 1,000 for his career.
• Flagg reached 100 assists for his career after dishing out three assists against Wagner on Dec. 29.
•Thompson is 120 points away from 1,000 points. The team has 13 games left including postseason and Thompson would need to average 9.2 points per game to reach the milestone.
• Thompson needs 67 rebounds to reach 500 caroms for his career, currently sitting at 433 boards for his career.

not so fashionable... Saint Francis has now worn four different color uniforms this season.
• The Red Flash has donned black, white, red and gray uniforms this season. The squad won its season debut with the white jersey against Franciscan on Nov. 15, but lost its first game wearing black (George Washington, Nov. 9), red (Ohio University, Dec. 4) and gray (Robert Morris, Dec. 22).
• White: Record: 2-1 (Franciscan, Bucknell, Wagner)
• Black: Record: 2-6 (George Washington, Virginia Tech, Cornell, Lehigh, at St. Francis Brooklyn, at Bryant)
• Red: Record: 1-3 (Ohio U, Illinois, at LIU, at Merrimack)
• Gray: Record: 0-2 (Robert Morris, FDU)

sharp dressed men... Fans of ZZ Top will remember that "every girl crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man," but during this basketball season the Saint Francis staff and the opposing teams have both worn dress clothes three times this season.
• During the Red Flash games against George Washington (Nov. 9), Hartford (Dec. 14) and Bryant (Jan. 27) the opposition also dressed in the traditional suit while the other 14 games the opposing team has been in what has been called COVID casual.

career night... Sophomore Jeriah Coleman registered a career-high eight points against Bryant on Jan. 17. Coleman, who also matched his career high with seven rebounds against the Bulldogs, surpassed his previous high of seven points and seven rebounds against Bucknell on Dec.1
• Sophomore Maxwell Land has re-established his career high with 20 points at LIU on Jan. 8 after posting a then career-high 19 points against Franciscan on Nov. 15.
• 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.
• 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.
• Redshirt senior Mark Flagg hauled in a career-high 17 rebounds against George Washington on November 9.

benchmarks for success... Saint Francis is 4-4 this season when it reaches 70 points in a game, and 4-1 when it posted 79 points.
• Seventy is usually a magic number for success under head coach Rob Krimmel. The squad is 92-49 overall when it posts 70 on the scoreboard, including 42-35 (70-79 points), 38-12 (80-89 points), 12-2 (90-99 points) and 10-0 (over 100 points) in a game.
• The squad is also 106-31 when leading at halftime, and 93-54 when it had more free throws than the opponent.
• Defensively, the team is 74-31 when it allows under 69 points in a game. This season, the team is 5-0 after allowing 54 points against Franciscan,68 points to Lehigh, 67 points to Bucknell, 66 points against Hartford and a season-best 46 points against Merrimack.

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 eight games with at least 20 points in his career. Dixon-Conover registered five 20-point performances in 2020-21 and reached 20 points against Bucknell (23 points) on Dec. 1, Robert Morris (20 points) on Dec. 22 and at LIU (21 points) on Jan. 8.
• 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 seven double-digit rebound games in his career with three 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.
non-conference slate.. Saint Francis concluded its non-conference slate with a 4-7 record.
• It was the 14th time the team recorded at least four wins in the non-conference schedule 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 nine of the previous 13 occasions including seven 10-win seasons in league play.
• Under head coach Rob Krimmel, the squad has won at least four non-conference games in 2014-16, and 2017-20. The Loretto program finished 2014-15 and 2015-16 with a 9-9 record, and then won 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 4-5 and went on to win the NEC regular season, and play in the conference championship game and the NIT.

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.