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| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
2 |
Zion Russell |
6-2 |
185 |
R-Sr. |
13.8 |
4.5 |
36.2 |
Averaging 17.0 ppg in last two games |
| GÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
F |
Skylar Wicks |
6-6 |
190 |
R-Sr. |
19.3 |
9.0.5 |
41.2 |
Leads the NEC in scoring and rebounding |
| G |
15 |
Victor Payne |
6-4 |
190 |
So. |
1.8 |
2.8 |
16.7 |
Made first career start at Lehigh |
| F |
20 Â Â |
Cam Tweedy |
6-6 |
240 |
R-Sr. |
7.3 |
2.8 |
52.2 |
Has started the last two games |
| G |
55 Â Â Â |
Ahmad Harrison |
6-1 |
190 |
Sr. |
5.3 |
2.0 |
41.7 |
Season-high 11 points at Lehigh |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Chris Moncrief |
6-6 |
190 |
Sr. |
3.5 |
0.5 |
50.0 |
Missed last two games |
| GÂ |
1 |
KJ Swain, Jr. |
6-1 |
165 |
R-Sr.. |
2.5 |
0.3 |
50.0 |
Scored six points at TCU |
| G |
3 |
Brandon Russell |
6-5 |
185 |
Fr. |
4.3 |
1.3 |
18.2 |
Had six points at Oklahoma |
| G/F |
4 |
Ralph Martino, Jr. |
6-6 Â Â |
180 |
So. |
5.0 |
1.8 |
52.9 |
Scored at least five points in three games |
| G |
7 |
Paris Papadatos |
6-4 |
185 |
Fr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Looking to make his collegiate debut |
| FÂ Â Â Â |
21 |
Gestin Liberis |
6-9 |
225 |
R-Jr. |
2.8 |
2.3 |
35.7 |
Career-high five assists vs. TCU |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS. BELMONTÂ (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF) | BELMONT RADIO (FREE) * NOTE FLOSPORTS HAS A FEE TO WATCH
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Monday's game between Saint Francis and Belmont marks the first meeting in the all-time series between the two teams.
• There are 51 head coaches who are at the helm of their alma mater, and the game on Monday features two of them with Saint Francis head coach
Luke McConnell and Belmont head coach
Casey Alexander.
• McConnell is one of two head coaches who did not play men's basketball in college (McConnell was a four-year letter winner for the Red Flash football team), but he served on the staff as a graduate assistant, director of basketball operations, assistant coach, and associate head coach before being elevated to head coach this season. Alexander played three years with the Bruins, served as an assistant coach for six years, and is in his seventh season as Belmont's head coach, beginning his 16th season with the team.
• The one difference between the two coaches is that McConnell arrived on Saint Francis' campus in the fall of 2008 and never left Loretto, while Alexander left to serve as a head coach at Stetson (2011-13) and Lipscomb (2013-19) before returning to his alma mater.
• This will be one of eight games that McConnell will face a coach who is also coaching his alma mater. Along with Monday's bout, the Red Flash faced TCU (Jamie Dixon) on November 6 and then will have home-and-home games with NEC rivals (CCSU, Le Moyne, and Stonehill) in a battle of alma mater pride.
• Saint Francis is 1-2 against the Missouri Valley Conference, but Monday's game against Belmont marks the first game against the conference since January 3, 1983, when the Red Flash lost 94-62 at Bradley.
• The Frankies also lost to Bradley 94-63 on December 7, 1981, in the only time a Missouri Valley Conference team came to Loretto, while the only other meeting with the conference was an 85-81 win at North Texas on December 27, 1973.
• Illinois-Chicago joined the MVC in 2022, but before the Flames were in the league. They owned a 3-0 record against Saint Francis, including a win in the CIT First Round in 2017-18.
• If you want to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, one current player came from the MVC. Senior
Chris Moncrief came to Saint Francis in 2022-23 after playing at Evansville his freshman year. Moncrief played twice against the Bruins with Evansville, playing 18 minutes with two points, three rebounds and two steals in the two tilts.
• Now, you can also reverse the connection to the MVC. Landon Moore played his freshman year at Saint Francis, played two years at Butler, and transferred to Indiana State this year.
• The Red Flash will battle either Toledo or Troy on Wednesday in the final day of the Geico Coconut Hoops. It would be the first meeting against Troy, while Saint Francis has played Toledo three times, but the Red Flash and the Rockets have not met since the end of the Red Flash's Golden Era in 1972-73.
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's first win of the season
• Be the team's second win against the MVC and first since 1973
• Give first-year head coach Luke McConnell his first win as a head coach
• Be the third Red Flash win in the state of Florida and the first since defeating Jacksonville 78-76 on March 14, 2017, in the CIT
 • Be the first in-season tournament win since an 87-71 win against Lehigh in the Golden Dome Classic on December 30, 1977. NOTE: Saint Francis played in the D.C. Holiday Hoops Fest Showcase, but was not part of the tournament bracket
ABOUT THE BRUINS
• Belmont comes into the contest 5-0 after defeating Fisk 96-49 on Friday. The Bruins finished 22-11 last season.
• Sam Orme (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Brigham Rogers (17 points, 13 rebounds) both registered double-doubles for Belmont against Fisk, while Jabez Jenkins (14 points), Win Miller (12 points), Nic McClain (11 points), and Tyler Lundblade (11 points) also reached double figures.Â
• Lundblade fuels Belmont with 15.0 points per game, and Orme has a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game, along with 14.8 points per game. Drew Scharnowski (12.0 ppg.), Jenkins (11.4 ppg.), McClain (10.0 ppg.), and Rogers (10.0 ppg.) are also averaging double-digits for the Bruins.Â
LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis fell 77-62 at Lehigh on November 18.
• Skylar Wicks paced the Red Flash with his second-straight double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
• Ahmad Harrison and Zion Russell added 11 points.
TRENDING UP
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks had a season-high 24 points at Lehigh on November 18, the fourth-highest total scored by an NEC player this season. He is also one of three players to have at least 20 points twice this season. The redshirt senior has scored at least 15 points in all four games this season and has at least 18 points in the three games on the road.
• Wicks, who recorded back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in his career, became the first player since Josh Cohen to have a double-double with at least 20 points after Cohen posted 25 points and 12 rebounds against CCSU in the NEC Quarterfinals on March 1, 2023. Wicks is also the first player to have consecutive double-doubles since Miles Webb against Penn State Shenango on December 4, 2024, and Niagara on December 14, 2024. Webb finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in both games.Â
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell has recorded back-to-back double-figure performances for the first time in a Red Flash uniform after his first career 20-point performance against Mount St. Mary's on November 11 and 11 points against Lehigh, while also adding a season-high six rebounds and five assists. It was the fourth time in his career that he had dished out five assists. Russell is looking to register double figures in points in his third straight game for the third time in his career after he turned the trick twice last season at Niagara.
• Senior Ahmad Harrison reached double figures for the first time in a Saint Francis uniform with his 11 points against Lehigh. It was also his first Division I 10+ point game after reaching the mark 19 times last year as a member of NCAA Division III Notre Dame University of Maryland. Harrison also had three steals for the first time this season and the 22nd time in his career.
• Sophomore Victor Payne made his first collegiate start against Lehigh and finished with four rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. It was his second straight game with four boards after posting seven points and four caroms against Mount St. Mary's. While the steals and blocks against the Mountain Hawks were career highs, the points and rebounds against the Mount were the most against a Division I opponent. Payne had a career-high 10 points and seven rebounds against Penn State Shenango on December 4, 2024.
• Senior Chris Moncrief missed his second-straight game after missing the contest against Lehigh. Moncrief was, some might say, the key to the 2025 NEC Tournament run. Moncrief helped the Red Flash to an 8-3 record when he joined the starting lineup last year, including winning six straight before the NCAA First Four. He averaged 10.0 points per game in that stretch and is averaging 8.7 points per game in her last 12 contests.
LEAGUE LEADERS
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks leads the NEC in scoring (19.3 ppg.), rebounding (9.0 rpg.) and 3-point field goal percentage (46.2), and ranks third in 3-pointers per game (3.0), seventh in assists per game (3.3), 10th in field goal percentage (41.2) 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1) and 10th in steals per game (1.5).
• Wicks also sits 57th in rebounding, 78th in scoring and 87th in 3-point field goal percentage in NCAA Division I.
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell is also in the Top-10 in scoring, sitting eighth (13.8 ppg.) and is second in minutes played (35.0), sixth in free throw percentage (76.5), seventh in assists per game (3.3), and eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3).
• Senior Ahmad Harrison is tied with Wicks for steals per game (1.5) in the NEC.
IN THE SUNSHINE STATE
• Saint Francis is 2-6 in games played in the state of Florida. The Red Flash defeated Jacksonville 78-76 in the CollegeInsiders.com Tournament on March 14, 2017, and Stetson 70-60 on January 2, 1974.
• Saint Francis has also lost to both Jacksonville and Stetson, along with three times at the University of Miami and once at the University of Florida, which is also on the Red Flash schedule on December 17.
• The last time the Frankies played in Florida was December 17 at Miami. Saint Francis lost 91-76 to the eventual Final-Four Hurricanes, but the Red Flash went into halftime tied at 37, and would have had a two-point lead without a last-second steal and basket by Miami.
AGAINST THE VOLUNTEER STATE
• Saint Francis is 6-5 against the state of Tennessee, including 0-1 on a neutral site.Â
• While the Red Flash has never met Belmont, the team has played Tennessee State (3-3) six times, Tennessee Tech (2-0) twice, Austin Peay (1-0), Tennessee (0-1), and Vanderbilt (0-1) once each.Â
• The last time Saint Francis played a team from the Volunteer State was December 31, 2008, at Vanderbilt, while the last time the Frankies defeated a team from the state was a 91-88 victory against Tennessee Tech on February 4, 1972.
• The only time Saint Francis played a team at a neutral site from the state was an 82-59 loss to Tennessee in the All-City Tournament in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1969-70.
ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 1-11 on this date and 0-11 on the road.
• The lone win on this date was a 59-44 decision at home against Bucknell in 2001. Reiner Mougnol paced the Red Flash with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Rashaan Benton added 13 points and Pete Fox chipped in 12 points.
• In 2018, the Red Flash completed one of its toughest stretch in program history after playing No. 20 UCLA (November 16), No. 7 North Carolina (November 19) and No. 13 Virginia Tech (November 24) in a nine-day stretch on the road.
FUN FACT...
• The first two times Saint Francis played on this date was the season-opener for that season. The 1978-79 season opened the Dave Magarity era at LSU and the 1984-85 team started its second season under Kevin Porter at Ohio on this date.
