Mount St. Mary's University (11-12, 7-6 NEC) at Saint Francis University (8-16, 4-9 NEC)
Date | Time	Saturday, February 12, 2022 | 4 p.m
Location	Loretto, Pa. | DeGolArena
Television	Pat Farabaugh (play-by-play), Bernie Jubeck (color analyst) | NEC Front Row
Live Stats	SideArm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | Mount St. Mary's | Digital Program
Stats	Saint Francis | Mount St. Mary's | 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.	12.7	4.8	40.0	17 pts, 8 rebs, 5 ast vs. FDU
G	11	Maxwell Land	6-4	185	So.	10.9	4.0	39.4	Siix 10+ games in last seven games
G	31	Brad McCabe	6-6	185	R-So.	3.5	1.9	43,3	Career-high 21 points at FDU
F	33	Josh Cohen	6-10	220	R-So.	11.7	6.7	61,6	Seven 10+ point games in last nine tilts
F	42	Mark Flagg	6-9	215	R-Sr.	4.5	4.9	43.3	Needs one rebound for 19th place
Off the Bench
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note

GAME NOTES VS. MOUNT
need to know... The game between Saint Francis and Mount St. Mary's marks the 87th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1921-22 season.
• The Mount leads the series 52-34, but the Red Flash hold a 22-15 advantage in Loretto.
• Mount St. Mary's has won the last three in the series, including a 71-54 decision  14 days ago in Emmitsburg.
• Prior to the three-game losing streak against the Mount, the Red Flash won the previous four meetings and have taken two of the last three meetings at DeGol Arena dating back to the 2018-19 season.
• The best streak for the Red Flash against the Emmitsburg program was during head coach Rob Krimmel's playing days and early in his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Red Flash. The squad was 13-3 from 1997-2005 against the Mount.

a sfu win would... Be the second-straight win
• End a two-game losing streak at DeGol Arena
• End a three-game losing streak against the Mount and earn an all-important season split for playoff postseason tiebreakers
• Be the third home win in the last five games

next on tap... Saint Francis wraps up its five of six games at home next weekend against Long Island (Feb. 17) and St. Francis Brooklyn (Feb. 19).
• The Red Flash will honor Ramiir Dixon-Conover, Mark Flagg, Chukwu Ikediashi, A.J. Labriola and Ty Stewart in a pregame ceremony prior to the game against St. Francis Brooklyn.
• The Red Flash will conclude the regular season on the road at Central Connecticut State (Feb. 24) and at Sacred  Heart (Feb. 26).

the word on the mount... Mount St. Mary's comes into the contest 11-12 overall and 7-6 in Northeast Conference play after falling 69-57 to Wagner on Thursday
• Jalen Benjamin was the only Mount player in double figures with 16 points against the Seahawks.
• Benjamin leads the team in scoring (13.2 ppg.) and assists (96), while ranking second on the team in steals (20).
• Mezie Offurum paces the team in steals (23) and ranks second on the team in scoring (10.8 ppg.).
• Nana Opoku fuels the team in blocks (39) and is second on team in rebounding (6.5 rpg.) and third in scoring (10.7 ppg.), while Malik Jefferson is the team's top rebounder (7.0 rpg.).

last time we met... Mount St. Mary's downed Saint Francis 71-54 14 days ago in Maryland.
• Sophomore Maxwell Land paced the Red Flash with 17 points, while redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover chipped in 11 points.
• Jalen Benjamin fueled the Mount with 22 points, while Nana Opoku added 14 points.

last time out... Redshirt sophomore Brad McCabe knocked down five baskets from behind the arc on his way to a career-high 21 points to lift the Red Flash to a 78-65 win at Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday.
• Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
• Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen had 16 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Maxwell Land chipped in 13 points.

playoff push... The win on Thursday moved Saint Francis into a tie with St. Francis Brooklyn for seventh place, but the Terriers hold the head-to-head with the Red Flash so if the postseason started today Saint Francis would still be in the 8/9 game on Feb. 28. However, the win against the Knights on Thursday would mean that game would be played in Loretto, not the Garden State.
• Saint Francis has four league wins with five games to go and is only 3.5 games out of the No. 3 spot currently occupied by Mount St. Mary's and LIU, the Red Flash's next two opponents.
• With five games left, Saint Francis has the second easiest strength of schedule remaining based on conference record (.421) of the opponents remaining and only Mount St. Mary's (7-6) and LIU (7-6) are .500 or above in league play.
• Saint Francis' travel partner, the Mount, has the easiest strength of schedule at .375.
• In addition, three of the teams the Red Flash is fighting with for playoff position have the three hardest remaining schedules
• Saint Francis currently holds head-to-head tiebreakers against Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut State, while the rest of the league currently has a tiebreaker against the Loretto program.
• The Red Flash split the season series with both Merrimack and FDU, but both of those teams hold a win against a higher ranked team and would hold the tiebreaker.

Strength of Schedule (based off of conference record):
1. Mount St. Mary's .375
2. Saint Francis .421
3. Merrimack .451
4. LIU .484
5. Sacred Heart .486
6. Bryant .492
7. Wagner .460
8. SFBK .516
9. CCSU .615
10. FDU .650

trending up... Redshirt sophomore Brad McCabe's success might have lasted longer than 15 minutes. After jumping onto the scene last week against the New England team, McCabe outdid his performance again with a career-high 21 points thanks to also hitting a team season-high five triples. That Isaiah Blackmon game against Robert Morris on Feb. 18, 2020 is back in the conversation this time for being the last time a Red Flash player hit at least five from downtown in a game and Blackmon hit six against the Colonials.
• It's worth noting again that McCabe had 11 points and seven rebounds in 34 minutes in his first 13 career games, and has posted 37 points and 16 rebounds in 81 minutes in his last three games for an average of 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 27 minutes per game in that span.
• McCabe became the fifth player this season to reach 20 points in a game and the ninth player on the roster to turn the trick in his career. In the last three games, redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover had 22 points against Bryant, redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen registered a career-high 26 points against Merrimack on Feb. 5 and then McCabe had his 21-point output against FDU on Thursday.  It is the first time since Blackmon, Keith Braxton and Randall Gaskins had a 20-point game during a three-game stretch at the end of the 2020-21 season.
• Dixon-Conover stat stuffing against FDU is kind of a norm, after the redshirt senior notched his seventh game this season with at least 15 points, five rebounds and three assists The squad has won the last two times Dixon-Conover has recorded that kind of performance. In addition, the eight caroms ties a season high he set in the season opener against George Washington on Nov. 9.
• Cohen, who had a career-high three blocks, followed up his Prime Performer performance with his 13th double-figure performance of the season and his seventh in his last nine games. He is averaging 13.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in that span.
• Sophomore Maxwell Land has registered double figures in four-straight games and five of his last six games and is averaging 14.3 points per game in that span. The sophomore has made at least three from behind the arc eight times in the last 15 tilts.
• Redshirt senior Mark Flagg finished the game  on Thursday with six points and eight rebounds. It was the sixth time this season he has scored at least six points and the fifth time he has hauled in at least eight caroms. The redshirt senior needs one rebound to move into 19th place on the program's all-time career rebounding list.
• Saint Francis has hit double figure 3-pointers for the third time this season and the second time in the last three games.
• The Red Flash are 6-2 when it scores at least 78 points in a game and are 6-1 when it holds the opponent under 69 points.

offensive rebounds + second chance + points off turnovers = the difference between wins and losses... Saint Francis is +17.4 points per game, +22 rebounds and has three fewer turnovers in its eight wins, while it is -.14.6 points per game, -9 offensive rebounds in the 16 losses.
•  Offensive rebounds lead to second chance points and the team is +45 second chance points in victories compared to -24 second chance points in a loss.
• Points off of turnovers can also make a difference and the team is +45 points off turnovers in a win and -32 points off turnovers in a loss.
• In the seven league road games, the opponent has had more rebounds in each game and is +41 in offensive rebounds, while Saint Francis has out rebounded the opponent in four of the six league home games and is +18 on the offensive glass.

for starters... Saint Francis has used nine different starting lineup combinations in this season with 10 different players hearing their name called. The Red Flash is 4-5 in the debut of a new lineup this season.
• Sophomore Maxwell Land is the only player to start all 24 games this season. Redshirt sophomores Luke Ruggery and Brad McCabe have both made their first career starts in the last two games.
• 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 4-10 and averaging 67.3 points per game.
• Saint Francis had all of its rotational pieces for nine of the 11 non-conference games, but has had a piece missing in 13 of the 14 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 62.4 points per game in January, but are averaging 74.7 points per game to start the month of February. The squad was the top scoring team throughout the non-conference season and was ranked in the Top-100 of NCAA Division I.

groundhog may be able to predict six more weeks of winter, but red flash it is four weeks of winning... They say that you want to be playing your best basketball in February and for Saint Francis that is the case. The squad is 41-35 in the second month of the year under head coach Rob Krimmel, including 26-17 in the last five seasons in the month.
• The squad will have five of its eight games in Loretto, which bodes well for the Red Flash. The team is 21-15 in the month of February under Krimmel at home.
• Saint Francis is also 20--20 on the road in the month under Krimmel in the month.

home, sweet home, loretto... Saint Francis is 78-52 at DeGol Arena under head coach Rob Krimmel.
• The Red Flash is 52-34 in Northeast Conference play at home, and 26-18 in non-conference action.
• Saint Francis is 4-5 this season. The season has been about streaks after winning its first two games at home, then lost the next three, won the next two and are currently on a two-game losing streak at DeGol Arena.
• In three of its four wins at home, the squad has scored 85 points (vs. Sacred Heart, Jan. 23), 93 points (vs. Bucknell, Dec. 1) and 100 points (vs. Franciscan, Nov. 15). The squad also posted 82 points in a loss to Bryant on Feb. 3.
• 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.

national ranking... Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover has moved up to 26th place with 2.17 steals per game in NCAA Division I.
• Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen ranks 43rd in NCAA Division I in field goal percentage through games on Sunday. Cohen is in the rankings based on three made field goals per game with his 61.6 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 is 63rd in offensive rebounds per game (11.87) in NCAA Division I.

in the nec… Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover leads the league in steals (2.22) and ranks seventh in assists (3.52), seventh in minutes played (33.17), ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.35), and 13th in the scoring (12.7 ppg.).
• Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen leads the conference in field goal percentage (61.6), and ranks third in the circuit in offensive rebounds (2.76) and 16th in scoring (11.7 ppg.).
• Senior Myles Thompson ranks 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (39.7) and 18th in scoring (11.5 ppg).
• Sophomore Maxwell Land ranks seventh in 3-pointers made (1.79) and  sixth in minutes played (33.29.)
• Saint Francis ranks in the Top-5 in the Northeast Conference in nine team categories.
• After leading the conference for the majority of the non-conference slate in scoring offense, the Red Flash have dropped to fifth with 69.6 points per game.
• The Red Flash also ranks third in offensive rebounds (12.00), fourth in steals (6.83), fourth in offensive rebound percentage (31.8), fourth in turnover margin (+0.67), fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.04),  fifth in field goal percentage (42.9),  fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (32.4), fifth in rebounding offense (36.2).

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.
• Dixon-Conover has 14 double-figure point games this season and  has reached 10+ points 33 times in his career.
• Dixon-Conover is a stat stuffer and has grabbed five rebounds 29 times in his career including 14 times this season.
• He also has 17 games this season with at least three assists and 51 in his career, and 15 games with at least two steals in 2020-21 and 43 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 nine 20-point performances, including four 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, 21 points against LIU on Jan. 8 and 22 points against Bryant on Feb. 3.
• The redshirt senior has 15 games with 18 points or more in his career.
• Dixon-Conover moved over 700 points in his career in the second half against Bryant on Feb. 3 and now has 732 career points.
• Dixon-Conover also has 299 rebounds, 253 assists and 132 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 116 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 664 caroms. He joined the program's Top-20 all-time career rebound list  after collecting three rebounds against Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 29.
• Flagg can move into a tie for 19th with Charles Kates (665, 1977-81) with one board, and into a tie with Joe Anderson (666, 1987-91) with two caroms. After Anderson, Flagg needs 57 rebounds to move up another spot.
• Flagg has 885 career points, and needs 115 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, who registered a season-high 21 points against Central Connecticut State on Jan. 21, is 58 points away from 1,000 points. The team has six guaranteed games left including postseason and Thompson would need to average 9.7 points per game to reach the milestone.
• Thompson needs 45 rebounds to reach 500 caroms for his career, currently sitting at 455 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: 3-7 (George Washington, Virginia Tech, Cornell, Lehigh, at St. Francis Brooklyn, at Bryant, at Wagner, at FDU)
• Red: Record: 1-4 (Ohio U, Illinois, at LIU, at Merrimack, at Mount St. Mary's)
• Gray: Record: 1-4 (Robert Morris, FDU, Sacred Heart, Bryant, Merrimack)

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), at Bryant (Jan. 27) and at FDU (Feb. 10) the opposition also dressed in the traditional suit while in 19 games the opposing team has been in what has been called COVID casual.
• The Saint Francis coaching staff went COVID casual for its game at Wagner on Jan. 27. The coaches wore a Sneakers and Suits Coaches vs. Cancer quarter zip for the game against the Seahawks.
• The coaching staff also wore a bow tie in honor of the memory of legendary Mount head coach Jim Phelan, who passed away in June.

career night... Redshirt sophomore Brad McCabe established a career-high for the second time in three games. McCabe had a then career-high 11 points against Bryant on Feb. 3 and then upped the ante with 21 points against FDU on Feb. 10.
Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen has re-established his career high three times this season in points with his latest coming in the form of a 26-point output against Merrimack on Feb. 5. Cohen, who posted a then career bests of 18 points vs. Cornell on Nov. 24 and 23 points against American on Dec. 8, grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds against Sacred Heart on Jan. 23.
• Redshirt sophomore Luke Ruggery had a career-high 10 points against Bryant on Feb. 3.
• Sophomore Maxwell Land has registered three career-best performances this season The sophomore started the season by scoring 19 points against Franciscan on Nov. 15 and then notched a career-best 20 points against LIU on Jan. 8 and again against Sacred Heart on Jan. 23.
• 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
• Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover scored a career-best 23 points against Bucknell 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.
• Redshirt senior Mark Flagg hauled in a career-high 17 rebounds against George Washington on November 9.

benchmarks for success... Saint Francis is 6-5 this season when it reaches 70 points in a game, and 6-2 when it posted 79 points.
• Seventy is usually a magic number for success under head coach Rob Krimmel. The squad is 94-50 overall when it posts 70 on the scoreboard, including 43-35 (70-79 points), 39-13 (80-89 points), 12-2 (90-99 points) and 10-0 (over 100 points) in a game.
• The squad is also 107-31 when leading at halftime, and 95-54 when it had more free throws than the opponent.
• Defensively, the team is 76-31 when it allows under 69 points in a game.
• Seven of the eight wins this season have come after holding the opponent under 67 points in a game. Sacred Heart broke that streak when it posted 74 points in the Red Flash 85-74 win on Jan. 23.
• The 65-64 loss in overtime to Merrimack was the first time the team did not win when it held an opponent under 67 points.

20-point club... Redshirt senior Ramiir Dixon-Conover, senior Myles Thompson and redshirt sophomores Josh Cohen and Brad McCabe, and sophomore  Maxwell Land have all registered a 20-point performance this season. Dixon-Conover has four 20-point performances this season while Cohen and Land each have notched a pair of 20-point games.
• 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, at LIU (21 points) on Jan. 8 and against Bryant (22 points) on Feb. 3 this season. He leads the team with nine games with at least 20 points in his career.
• Thompson notched a 20-point output with a season-best 21 points against Central Connecticut State on Jan. 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. He then added a 20-point game against Sacred Heart on Jan. 23.
• Cohen, who joined the 20-point club with a 23-point outburst against American on Dec. 8, notched his second 20-point game with a season-team-high 26 points against Merrimack on Feb. 5.
• McCabe joined the club with a career-high 21 points against FDU on Feb. 10.
• 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.

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.

double vision... Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen leads the team with four double-doubles this season, while redshirt senior Mark Flagg has two double-doubles in 2021-22.
• 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, 18 points and 10 rebounds against Lehigh on Nov. 28, . 12 points and 12 rebounds against Sacred Heart and 26 points and 10 boards against Merrimack on Feb. 5.
• Cohen and Flagg both now have five 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 and a 14-board game against LIU on Jan. 8.
• Redshirt sophomore Josh Cohen has six career 10+ rebound games (five this season), including a career-best 12 caroms against Sacred Heart on Jan. 23.
• Senior Myles Thompson ranks second on the team with three 10+ rebound games.

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.

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.