Sacred Heart University (7-11, 3-4 NEC) at Saint Francis University (6-12, 2-5 NEC)
Date | Time	Sunday, January 23, 2022 | 4 p.m
Location	Loretto, Pa. | DeGol Arena
Television	Preston Shoemaker (Play-by-Play), Bernie Jubeck (color analyst) | NEC Front Row
Live Stats	SideArm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | Sacred Heart | Digital Game Program
Stats	Saint Francis | Sacred Heart | 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.	12.5	4.8	40.5	Leads the NEC in steals
G	11	Maxwell Land	6-4	185	So.	9.8	4.4	39.0	Averaged 13.0 points per game in series last year
F	5	Myles Thompson	6-6	220	Sr	11.8	3.8	43.7	Coming off a 21-point performance vs. CCSU
F	13	Marlon Hargis	6-6	205	Sr.	6.8	2.8	43.8	Posted 15 points three times this season
F	33	Josh Cohen	6-10	220	R-S0.	11.1	6.0	64.1	Four-straight games with double figures
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	Appeared in every game this season
G	3	Luke Ruggery	5-11	160	R-So.	2.2	0.8	26.5	Registered six points against CCSU on Friday
F	4	Ronell Giles, Jr.	6-4	185	So.	11.5	3.7	37.9	Ranks second on the team in scoring
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 road games
G	21	Ben Seidel	6-0	170	Jr.	0.7	0.0	50..0	Played in last two road games
G/F	22	Tyler Stewart	6-8	195	R-Sr.	--	--	--	Has not played in first 18 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 ninth in NEC in blocks (0.8 bpg)
F	42	Mark Flagg	6-10	205	R-Sr.	4.6	5.2	43.5	Needs 13 rebounds to join Top-20

GAME NOTES VS. SACRED HEART
need to know... The game between Saint Francis and Sacred Heart marks the 43rd meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1999-00 season.
• The Red Flash have won eight of the last 10 meetings to grab a 26-16 edge in the all-time series.
• Saint Francis is 13-6 at DeGol Arena against the Pioneers
• The Red Flash under head coach Rob Krimmel is 8-1 in his home arena against the Connecticut program and have won eight straight after falling in the initial meeting under Krimmel at DeGol Arena.
• The two teams split the season series last year in Fairfield with Saint Francis taking the first meeting 76-58 on Jan. 30 and then Sacred Heart won the second game 82-70 to end the Red Flash's four-game winning streak against the Blue Devils.
• This will be the first contest in Loretto for the two teams since 2019-20.

a sfu win would... Be the third NEC win
• Give the Red Flash back-to-back wins for the second time this season (Lehigh and Bucknell)
• Give the Red Flash back-to-back wins at DeGol Arena for the first time since defeating FDU (90-82) and CCSU (62-59) on Jan. 27 and Jan. 30, 2021

next on tap... Saint Francis wraps up the month of January back on the road at Wagner on Thursday and at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday.
• The tilt will complete the season series with the Seahawks after Wagner downed the Red Flash 72-64 on Dec. 29.
• Saint Francis, who will play five of its first six games in February at DeGol Arena, will return to Loretto on Feb. 3 to square off against Bryant.

the word on the pioneers... Sacred Heart comes into the contest 7-11 overall and 3-4 in Northeast Conference play after falling 98-59 at Mount St. Mary's on Friday.
• Alex Watson paced the Pioneers  with 22 points against the Mount. Aaron Clarke (14 points) also found double figures on Friday.
• Tyler Thomas leads the team with 18.3points per game and has a team-best 24 steals while ranking second with 40 assists.
• Clarke fuels the team in assists (53) and ranks second in scoring (16.1 ppg.)
• Nico Galette powers the team in rebounding (8.8 rpg.) and is the third member of the Pioneers to average double figures (10.8 ppg.)

last time we met... After defeating Sacred Heart 76-58 on Jan. 21, the Pioneers earned a split with an 82-70 win in Fairfield on Jan. 22.
'• Ramiir Dixon-Conover paced five players in double figures with 18 points. Maxwell Land (12 points), Marlon Hargis (12 points) Ronell Giles, Jr. (11 points)and Mark Flagg (10 points) all found double figures for the Red Flash.
• Aaron Clarke led the Pioneers with 23 points off the bench. Tyler Thomas added 19 points, while Cantavio Dutreil (seven points, 10 rebounds) found double digits in rebounds.

last time out... Senior Myles Thompson scored 17 of his season-high 21 points in the second half to power the Red Flash to a 68-67 come-from-behind win against Central Connecticut State on Friday.
• The Blue Devils had a chance for the victory in the waning seconds of the game, but missed the shot and redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover grabbed the rebound to seal the win as time expired.
• Sophomore Josh Cohen added 10 points and five rebounds in the win.

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 33rd 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 64.1 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... Senior Myles Thompson notched his second career 20-point game with his season-high performance on Friday. It was his first 20-point game since he notched a career-high 23 points against Florida State in his sophomore campaign.
• Thompson is the fourth different player to post a 20-point output this season, but the Red Flash has not had a player record consecutive 20-point games since Keith Braxton at the end of the 2019-20 season.
• Thompson has scored double figures eight times this season and 44 times in his career. The senior has posted at least 17 points in a game five times this season and 10 times in his career. Thompson, who crossed the 900-point mark against Central Connecticut State, is averaging 14.8 points per game since the New Year.
• Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen registered double figures in the last four games that he has played and is averaging 12.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in that stretch. The sophomore has posted double figures in six of his seven career starts and is averaging  11.5 points per game as a starter. Cohen has scored double figures three times at home this season and in four of his 14 games that he has registered at least 10 points in a game.
• Redshirt senior Mark Flagg came up huge off the bench on Friday with his nine points and five rebounds in 14 minutes in the second half. It was the second time this season Flagg has come off the bench after posting eight points in a reserve role against Cornell on Nov. 24. Flagg now needs 13 rebounds to move into the program's all-time career Top-20 list for rebounds with 653 caroms.
•Sophomore Maxwell Land has registered double figures in four of the seven NEC games this season and has scored at least nine points in five of the contests. Land ranks second on the team with 11.4 points per game in league games and fuels the team with 12.7 points per game in contests at DeGol Arena. In addition, Land has hit at least three baskets from behind the arc five times in his last nine games.
• Sophomore Jeriah Coleman has 18 career blocks and has registered 10 in his last five games, including a career-high three rejections against LIU on Jan. 8 and against Merrimack on Jan, 15. Coleman has 11 blocks in conference games and ranks seventh with 1.20 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 5.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in his last four games.
• Saint Francis ended a three-game losing streak at DeGol Arena with the win against Central Connecticut State. The three-game home losing streak was the longest since the 2014-15 season.
• The Red Flash won its second game of the season after trailing at halftime. The squad is 16-121 when trailing going into the locker room at the break.
• The 68-67 win against the Blue Devils marked the seventh time under head coach Rob Krimmel the team has played a one-point game. The Red Flash are now 3-4 in those contests with four of those tilts ended in a one-point game in regulation. It was the first one-point decision since the Loretto team defeated Sacred Heart 72-71 on Jan. 28, 2018. The last time Saint Francis played back-to-back one-point games was in 2014-15 when it defeated Sacred Heart 79-78 on Jan. 16, 2015 and then fell to St. Francis Brooklyn 60-59 two days later.
• Saint Francis shot 50 percent in a game for the first time in nine games. The Red Flash had posted a field goal percentage of 50 percent or better in five-straight games from Lehigh on Nov. 24 to Hartford on Dec. 14, but had not hit the mark again until Friday night.

for starters... Saint Francis used its five different starting lineup combinations this season. Despite using five 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 games against Merrimack and Central Connecticut State were the only times 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 2-6 and averaging 64.9 points per game. They have won two of the last three games missing a piece.
• 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 seven 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 77-50 at DeGol Arena under head coach Rob Krimmel.
• The Red Flash is 51-32 in Northeast Conference play at home, and 26-18 in non-conference action.
• Saint Francis is 3-3 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 leads the league in steals (2.12) and ranks fourth in assists (3.71), sixth in minutes played (33.00) and 13th in the scoring (12.5 ppg.).
• Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen leads the conference in field goal percentage (64.1) and ranks fifth in the circuit in offensive rebounds (2.53).
• Sophomore Ronell Giles, Jr. 10th in steals (1.60) and 20th in scoring (11.5 ppg.).
• Senior Myles Thompson ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage (44.2)  and 18th in scoring (11.8 ppg.).
• Sophomore Jeriah Coleman has moved into ninth in blocked shots (0.88), while sophomore Maxwell Land is seventh in minutes played (32.06).
• Saint Francis ranks in the Top-5 in the Northeast Conference in 120team categories.
• After leading the conference for the majority of the non-conference slate in scoring offense, the Red Flash have dropped to fifth with 69.7 points per game.
• The Red Flash also ranks third in offensive rebounds (11.72), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.04), third in turnover margin (+1.24), fourth in field goal percentage (42.5), fourth in steals (7.19), fifth in rebounding defense (37.1), fifth in rebounding offense (36.2), fifth in blocked shots (3.00), fifth in steals (6.94) and fifth in offensive rebound percentage (31.1).

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 17 games he has played this season, and has reached double figures in 25 of his last 32 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 12 games with at least two steals in 2020-21 and 40 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 653 career points.
• Dixon-Conover also has 266 rebounds, 233 assists and 117 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 114 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 13 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 861 career points, and needs 139 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 99 points away from 1,000 points after registering a season-high 21 points against Central Connecticut State on Jan. 21. The team has 12 games left including postseason and Thompson would need to average 8.3 points per game to reach the milestone.
• Thompson needs 60 rebounds to reach 500 caroms for his career, currently sitting at 440 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: 3-1 (Franciscan, Bucknell, Wagner, Central Connecticut State)
• 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 15 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 75-31 when it allows under 69 points in a game. All six of the wins this season have come after holding the opponent under 69 points in a game.

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, senior Myles Thompson and sophomores Josh Cohen and Maxwell Land have all registered a 20-point performance this season. Dixon-Conover has three while the trio each registered one in 2021-22.
• 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. He leads the team with eight games with at least 20 points in his career.
• Thompson is the latest player with a 20-point output this season with a season-best 21 points against Central Connecticut State on Jam. 21 It was the second 20-point game of his career after notching a career-best 23 points against Florida State in 2018-19.
• Land became the fourth player on this year's team to add a 20-point performance to his resume thanks to a 20-point game against LIU on Jan. 8.
• 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.
• Sophomore Ronell Giles, Jr. posted two 20-point games last year with his career-best 21 points in the first match up against Bryant.
Redshirt seniors Mark Flagg and Tyler Stewart each have one 20-point performance in their career. Flagg posted his 20-point game in 2018-19 while Stewart recorded his 20-point game in 2019-20.

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.

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.