Â
| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Chris Moncrief |
6-6 |
190 |
Sr. |
3.5 |
0.5 |
50.0 |
Scored seven points in season opener |
| G |
2 |
Zion Russell |
6-2 |
185 |
R-Sr. |
10.5 |
4.5 |
39.1 |
Averaged 11.5 ppg against Mount last year |
| G |
3 |
Brandon Russell |
6-5 |
185 |
Fr. |
5.0 |
1.0 |
20.0 |
Had six points in his collegiate debut |
| GÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
F |
Skylar Wicks |
6-6 |
190 |
R-Sr. |
19.0 |
5.5 |
41.7 |
Scored at least 18 points in first two games |
| FÂ Â Â Â |
21 |
Gestin Liberis |
6-9 |
225 |
R-Jr. |
2.5 |
1.5 |
28.5 |
Career-high five assists vs. TCU |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| GÂ |
1 |
KJ Swain, Jr. |
6-1 |
165 |
R-Sr.. |
3.0 |
50.0 |
--- |
Scored six points at TCU |
| G/F |
4 |
Ralph Martino, Jr. |
6-6 Â Â |
180 |
So. |
6.5 |
2.0 |
54.5 |
Had six points in first game with Red Flash |
| G |
7 |
Paris Papadatos |
6-4 |
185 |
Fr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Looking to make his collegiate debut |
| G |
15 |
Victor Payne |
6-4 |
190 |
So. |
0.0 |
1.5 |
--- |
Appeared in 25 games with SFU last season |
| F |
20 Â Â |
Cam Tweedy |
6-6 |
240 |
R-Sr. |
10.0 |
2.5 |
61.5 |
Scored a career-high 14 points against TCU |
| G |
55 Â Â Â |
Ahmad Harrison |
6-1 |
190 |
Sr. |
3.0 |
1.5 |
30.0 |
Averaging 19.3 minutes a game |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS. MOUNT ST. MARY'SÂ (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF)
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Saint Francis will play in its first game at DeGol Arena since winning the 2025 NEC Tournament when it hosts longtime rival Mount St. Mary's for the 90th iteration dating back to the 1914-15 season.
• The Mount leads the series 55-34 and has won the last six meetings in the series, including both contests since the Mountaineers left the NEC for the MAAC. The previous Red Flash win in the series was a 75-62 decision on February 27, 2020, and Saint Francis holds a 22-17 edge in games in the 'Lo.
• It will be the 21st non-conference regular-season meeting between the two teams, the second time in the last three seasons in Loretto and just the third since 1959.
• Mount St. Mary's will be the first home game of a season for the first time in team history, while the Mountaineers were the Red Flash's NEC home opener three times (2001-02, 2018-19, 2020-21).
• The Red Flash is 8-20 all-time against the MAAC with a 7-6 record at home. The last win against a MAAC school was a 79-73 win against Niagara on November 30, 2018.
• Saint Francis makes its DeGol Arena debut for the 54th time. The Frankies are 31-8 in the home opener after starting on the road dating back to the 1950-51 season. The Red Flash is 32-3 if the season opener was also the home opener, having been at home for a combined 63-11 in the first game of the season in Loretto.
• Saint Francis has won 10 of the last 11 home openers. The one loss was in the COVID-19-shortened season against UMBC on November 28, 2020. That was also the last time the Frankies played a true NCAA Division I team as its home opener. Using the word true because the 2022 home opener and the Jack Phelan Classic against Hartford count as Division I games, since the Hawks still had Division I players on their team but had already started the transition to NCAA Division III.
• Saint Francis head coach
Luke McConnell will be on the Saint Francis bench for the 13th season, but this will be the first one as the Red Flash head coach. McConnell is looking for his first win as a head coach, and history might be on his side as he seeks to earn the victory in front of the DeGol Arena faithful. Every head coach since legendary head coach Dr. William "Skip" Hughes has picked up their first win as a head coach at home, except for John Clark, John Hiller, and his father, Tom McConnell, who earned their first win on the road.
• Luke could join his father in the win column in his third game as head coach, the same game number his father won his first game. The Frankies defeated Buffalo on the road on December 7, 1992, for Tom McConnell's first win to give Saint Francis a 1-2 record. Bryan Gandee led the Flash with 11 points, while Deon George (nine rebounds) and Rob Wooster each had eight points in the winning effort.
• If the current McConnell is still looking for his first win after Tuesday, there are many storybook tales to come into play. Saint Francis' next opponent is Lehigh, and the last time the Red Flash played in Bethlehem, the Red Flash defeated Lehigh 62-61 for Rob Krimmel's 150th win as a head coach on November 29, 2023. In addition, he would become the sixth head coach to win his first game against a Pennsylvania team, joining John Clark (at Duquesne), Kevin Porter (Lock Haven), Pete Lonergan (Pitt-Johnstown), Jim Baron (Slippery Rock), and Don Friday (Bucknell).
• The game at Lehigh begins a three-game road trip that will also include two games in Fort Myers, Florida, in the Geico Coconut Hoops Invitational before the Thanksgiving holiday.
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's first win of the season
• Be the team's 11th home opening win in the last 12 years
• Be the Red Flash's fifth straight win at DeGol Arena dating back to last year that included two OT wins and a three-point win against Wagner in the NEC Quarterfinals
• Be the first win for first-year head coach Luke McConnell to earn his first win as a head coach in his third game, just like his father
• End a six-game losing streak to the Mount
ABOUT THE MOUNT
• Mount St. Mary's comes into the contest 0-2 after falling 73-62 at home against Bucknell on Friday. The Mount finished 23-13 last year and became the first former NEC team to win the MAAC Men's Basketball Championship. The Mountaineers were also in the NCAA First Four, defeating American before losing to Duke in the NCAA First Round.
• Luke McEldon paced the Mount against the Bison with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Xavier Lipcomb (16 points) and Anastasios Rozakeas (10 points) also found double figures.
• McEldon leads the team with 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Lipscomb, a starter on last year's NCAA Tournament team, is averaging 12.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Rozakeas and Trey Deveaux are averaging 9.5 points per game.
LAST TIME WE MET
• Saint Francis made a late push in the second half, but the Red Flash could not overcome a Mount St. Mary's run to end the first half and begin the second half. The Mount ended with a 64-58 win on November 16, 2024
• Bobby Rosenberger III paced Saint Francis with 14 points, while Valentino Pinedo tallied eight points and eight rebounds.
• Terrell Ard, Jr. and Dallas Hobbs fueled the Mount with 12 points apiece, while Xavier Lipscomb, Dola Adebayo (13 rebounds), and Javon Ervin each chipped in 10 points.
LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis made some noise against Oklahoma in the first half, and TCU lost to New Orleans in the men's basketball season openers on Monday. The Horned Frogs wanted no chance of it happening again on Thursday in a 104-63 win against the Red Flash.
• Skylar Wicks paced the Red Flash with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Cam Tweedy added a career-high 14 points.
TRENDING UP
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks is averaging 19.0 points per game in his first two games with the Loretto program, while adding 11 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. Wicks had 20 points against Oklahoma on November 3 and 18 points at TCU on November 6. It was the first time he posted back-to-back 10+ point games since at Neese (February 26, 2024) and Southeastern Louisiana (March 4, 2024) with Incarnate Word, when he averaged 17.5 points per game in that two-game stretch.
• Redshirt senior Cam Tweedy set a new career standard in points against the Horned Frogs, breaking the 13 points he scored in the 2023 NEC Championship Game with FDU at Merrimack on March 7, 2024. The redshirt senior also had 10 points and six rebounds in the Knights' win against Purdue in the NCAA Tournament. It was his seventh double-figure point game of his career and his first since 12 points against Le Moyne on January 10, 2025.  He is averaging 10.0 points per game through two games.
• Graduate student Zion Russell is averaging 12.5 points per game against Mount St. Mary's, thanks to two games against the Mount when he was with Niagara last season. Russell had 14 points in the January 5 meeting in Emmitsburg and nine points in the Valentine's Day special in New York. Before his career-high 15 points against the Sooners, Russell's previous best was 14 points twice in his career, including his first encounter with the Mount.
• Redshirt junior Gestin Liberis had a career-high five assists against TCU after dishing out 10 assists in his career before this season. Liberis, who missed the 2024-25 season with an arm injury, will play his first game at DeGol Arena since registering eight points and seven rebounds against Le Moyne on March 2, 2024. He has two career 10+ point games in the 'Lo.
• Saint Francis begins its defense of its NEC Tournament title at home against a Mount St. Mary's named school for the second time in program history. After winning the 1991 title, the Red Flash opened the 1991-92 season at home against Mount St. Mary College, an NCAA Division III school out of Newburgh, N.Y. Jim Baron's Flash defeated the Knights (not the Mount) 80-63 on November 27, 1991, at home.
HOME, SWEET, HOME, LORETTO
• Saint Francis finished 2024-25 with a 10-4 record at home, 5-1 in non-conference play, and 5-3 in NEC play.
• In non-conference play last season, the Red Flash went 3-0 against NCAA Division III opponents, defeated Lehigh (88-78, November 26), and lost to Radford (79-70, December 1).
• The Frankies averaged 79.0 points per game at home and allowed 66.4 points per game.
• The Red Flash has won its last four games in Loretto and six of its previous seven.Â
• Saint Francis won its final two regular-season games at DeGol Arena in overtime and almost went extra with Wagner in the NEC Quarterfinals before Riley Parker started the journey to the NCAA Tournament with three free throws in the waning seconds of the game against the Seahawks.
ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 1-2 on this date, but hold a 1-0 record in Cambria County. The Red Flash opened the 2013-14 home schedule with a 60-57 win at the War Memorial in Johnstown. Greg Brown hit a jumper and converted the and one with 56 seconds left to give Saint Francis the victory. Malik Harmon paced the Flash with 20 points, while Earl Brown (11 points) and Ronnie Drinnon (10 points) also found double figures.
FUN FACT
The War Memorial opened on October 16, 1950 (75 years ago). The last time Saint Francis played in Johnstown the game also went down to the wire, but this time it was not in the Frankies favor. Micah Mason knocked down a jumper with two seconds left to give Duquesne a 67-65 win against the Red Flash on December 12, 2015.
