| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
2 |
Zion Russell |
6-2 |
185 |
R-Sr. |
11.3 |
4.1 |
35.8 |
If he doesn't reach 10 points, he scores six or seven points |
| G |
3 |
Brandon Russell |
6-5 |
185 |
Fr. |
3.7 |
1.4 |
20.0 |
Returned to the starting lineup for first time since Texas |
| G |
15 |
Victor Payne |
6-4 |
190 |
So. |
5.7 |
3.7 |
36.4 |
Career-high 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 steals on Saturday |
| F |
21 |
Gestin Liberis |
6-9 |
225 |
R-Jr. |
4.7 |
3.7 |
46.2 |
Notched career-high 16 points, 10 rebounds against Franciscan |
| G |
55 |
Ahmad Harrison |
6-1 |
190 |
Sr. |
7.7 |
2.1 |
43.6 |
10+ points in three of last four games |
| 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 five games |
| G |
1 |
KJ Swain, Jr. |
6-1 |
165 |
R-Sr. |
2.4 |
0.6 |
37.5 |
Returns to his home area for first time as a player |
| G/F |
4 |
Ralph Martino, Jr. |
6-6 |
180 |
So. |
5.3 |
2.0 |
59.3 |
Matched season high seven points, three rebounds vs Belmont |
| G |
7 |
Paris Papadatos |
6-4 |
185 |
Fr. |
--- |
--- |
--- |
Looking to make his collegiate debut |
| G |
F |
Skylar Wicks |
6-6 |
190 |
R-Sr. |
19.0 |
8.7.5 |
41.2 |
Ranks 28th nationally in defensive rebounds per game |
| F |
20 |
Cam Tweedy |
6-6 |
240 |
R-Sr. |
6.0 |
3.6 |
50.0 |
9 points, 8 rebounds against Franciscan |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS. XAVIER (FULL GAME NOTES PDF)
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Monday's game between Saint Francis and Xavier marks the 10th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1955-56 season.
• Saint Francis won three of the first four meetings against Xavier from 1955-59, the first four years after Maurice Stokes graduated. Xavier was in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in the first three years, but after the Frankies lost the first matchup with Xavier, the Red Flash won the next three. The big win in this stretch might have been in 1957-58 when the Saint Francis downed the Musketeers 75-70 on the road on February 22, 1958. Both teams played in the NIT, the last time for Saint Francis before 2018-19, but Xavier ended the year winning the NIT Championship.
•The other big win against Xavier was when head coach
Luke McConnell's father, Tom, was the head coach with Saint Francis, taking down the Musketeers 77-73 at DeGol Arena on January 31, 1994. Xavier finished the year 22-8 and advanced to the NIT Quarterfinals. The win was considered the fifth biggest win in Saint Francis men's basketball history, according to an Altoona Mirror 2020 poll. The wins that ranked above the win against the Musketeers were: 4. Saint Francis defeated No. 2 Duquesne 82-72 on January 8, 1955 (the Dukes would have been the No. 1 team in the nation without this loss); 3. Saint Francis beats UNC Charlotte 96-87 on February 5, 1977 (it was the 49ers last loss until falling to eventual national champion Marquette in the NCAA Final Four); 2. Saint Francis defeated Holy Cross 68-64 on March 15, 1955 in the NIT to reach the NIT Semifinals; 1. Saint Francis defeated Fordham 70-61 in the NCAA Division I Play-in Game on March 6, 1991 to advance to the NCAA Tournament for first time in team history.
• The Frankies are 0-36 against the Big East and 0-30 on the road. McConnell faced a Big East team as an assistant three times after playing Marquette (2016-17), Butler (2022-23), and Georgetown (2024-25). McConnell was also on staff for wins against Pittsburgh (80-70, November 25, 2020) and Rutgers (73-68, December 20, 2014).
• The game marks the third game of four against a Power 5 Conference team after playing Oklahoma on November 3 and TCU on November 6. The Red Flash will also travel to defending national champion Florida on December 17.
• It is the second consecutive year Saint Francis will play four Power teams after playing Clemson, Penn State, Georgetown, and Maryland in 2024-25.
• McConnell and Xavier head coach
Richard Pitino are two of 19 current head coaches who are following in their father's footsteps in the head coach ranks. McConnell's father, Tom, was the head coach of the Red Flash from 1992-99, while Richard's father is Rick Pitino, who has served as the head coach at Boston University (1978-83), Providence (1985-87), Kentucky (1989-97), Louisville (2001-17), Iona (2020-23) and St. John's (2023-present).
• It will be the first time McConnell will coach against a Pitino, but he just missing out on the elder Pitino twice as an assistant coach. The Red Flash played at Louisville and Iona the year after Pitino left those teams for other opportunities.
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's first road win of the season
• Give head coach Luke McConnell a win against Xavier, just like his father, Tom, who defeated the Musketeers on January 31, 1994
• Be McConnell's first win against a Division I team
• Be the team's third win in Cincinnati against Xavier and the first since a 59-56 win on February 2, 1959
• Be the second win of the season
• Be Saint Francis' first win in the state of Ohio since defeating Youngstown State 66-65 on November 29, 2008
ABOUT THE MUSKETEERS
• Xavier comes into the contest 5-3 after defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 88-67 on Friday.
• Jovan Milicevic fueled the Musketeers with 14 points, while Anthony Robinson (12 points), Tre Carroll (11 points), and Filip Borovicanin (10 points, 15 rebounds) also found double figures.
• Carroll leads the team with 15.2 points per game. Milicevic (13.8 ppg.), Roddie Anderson III (12.1 ppg.), and All Wright (10.9 ppg.) are also averaging double figures, and Borovicanin has a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game.
• Xavier finished 2024-25 with a 22-12 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Texas 86-80 in the NCAA First Four. The Musketeers played the Longhorns on the day after the Red Flash lost to Alabama State in the first game of the tournament.
LAST TIME WE MET
• Xavier defeated Saint Francis 88-64 to open the 1995-96 season. Terrence Martin paced the Red Flash with 14 points, while Kevin Carr also had 14 points for the Musketeers. It was Skip Prosser's second season as the head coach, coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Two years prior to that meeting, the Red Flash defeated Xavier 77-73 at DeGol Arena on January 31, 1994. Deon George paced the Red Flash with 18 points, while Reggie Lewis (16 points), Jason Roberts (15 points), and Rob Wooster (11 points) each reached double figures for Saint Francis.
• Tyrice Walker led the Musketeers with 26 points. Jeff Massey (20 points) and Brian Grant (15 points, 15 rebounds) also found double figures. Xavier finished 22-8 and won the regular season title in Pete Gillen's final season with the team.
• Tom McConnell was the head coach for the Flash in both games. George's son, Kyshawn, is a current NBA player with the Washington Wizards, while Roberts sadly passed away on November 5, 2025.
LAST TIME OUT
• Gestin Liberis and Victor Payne both had career days to power Saint Francis past Franciscan 85-60 on Saturday.
• Liberis registered his third career double-double, second against the Barons, and finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. For the second-straight game, Payne had 15 points and notched a career best in rebounds (eight), blocks (three), and steals (three).
• Ahmad Harrison added 12 points and six assists for the Red Flash to help head coach Luke McConnell register the first win of his coaching career.
• Both Saint Francis and Franciscan are two of the 42 Catholic schools in the country affiliated with the Franciscan order. After the game, the two teams shake hands, then form a prayer circle for a prayer before heading to the locker room.
• MConnell won his first game as a head coach on the same day that Dave Magarity won his first game as the Red Flash head coach in 1978 against St. Michael's (Vt.), and the same day that his mentor, Rob Krimmel, won his 150th career game against Lehigh in 2023. He became the 11th coach to earn his first win in the state of Pennsylvania and the 10th at home.
TRENDING UP
• Redshirt senior KJ Swain, Jr., who registered a career-high seven points and three rebounds against Franciscan on November 29, was a student at Xavier for two years before transferring to Saint Francis. Swain, who grew up in Hamilton, Ohio, about 40 minutes from Xavier, earned a scholarship before the start of this season with the Red Flash. It will be the first time in his four years that he will be this close to his home in his collegiate career. "I am ready. My whole family is behind me, I am excited, I can't wait for this game," said Swain about Monday's game.
• Sophomore Victor Payne has scored 15 points in both of his last two games and is averaging 8.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.25 blocks per game after being inserted into the starting lineup four games ago. Prior to joining the starting lineup, the sophomore had 53 points and 41 rebounds in 27 games with one 10+ point game.
• Similar to Payne, senior Ahmad Harrison has caught fire since joining the starting lineup with his insertion after the team returned from Texas. He is averaging 9.6 points, 1.8 steals, and 1.6 assists per game with three double-figure performances in his last four games. He has posted three steals twice in a game in his last five games, and matched his career high with six assists against Franciscan.
• Redshirt junior Gestin Liberis notched his third career double-double with a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday. It was the third time in his career that he has reached 10+ rebounds and registered a double-double, and the second time against Franciscan. Liberis, who missed the entire 2024-25 season with a shoulder injury, is averaging 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in his last two tilts.
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks registered his 1,000th point while at Coconut Hoops through his time at Missouri State (6 points), State College of Florida- JUCO (463 points), Incarnate Word (412 points), UTSA (36 points), and Saint Francis (114 points). He needs 42 points to reach 600 points in his NCAA Division I career. Wicks, who did not play against Franciscan on November 29, is looking to notch back-to-back 20-point games for the first time since he turned the trick in four straight games with Incarnate Word, November 14-25, 2023. The redshirt senior is averaging 20.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in his last three games.
• With the exception of scoring back-to-back 10+ point games against Mount St. Mary's (career-high 23 points on November 11) and against Lehigh (11 points) on November 18, redshirt senior Zion Russell has scored double figures in every other game, or maybe it is once a week. If the trend continues, then Russell will post a double-figure game on Monday at Xavier after missing the mark against Franciscan. Speaking of trends, it's time for school-age children to get excited and grown-ups to roll their eyes because when Russell does not reach 10 points in a game, he has scored either six points or, you guessed it, seven points (six-seven) in those three games.
LEAGUE LEADERS
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks leads the NEC in minutes per game (35.3), and ranks second NEC in scoring (19.0 ppg.), third in rebounding (8.7 rpg.), fifth in free throw percentage (80.0), sixth in 3-pointers per game (2.3), eighth in steals per game (1.5), ninth in assists per game (2.8).
• Wicks ranks 21st in minutes per game, 28th in defensive rebounds per game (6.83), 55th in rebounding, 57th in double-doubles (2), 66th in scoring, in NCAA Division I.
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell is sixth in minutes played (31.7).
• Senior Ahmad Harrison is fourth in steals per game (1.7) in the NEC.
AGAINST THE BUCKEYE STATE
• Saint Francis is 78-69 against teams from Ohio.
• Saint Francis travels to Xavier on Monday after hosting Franciscan on Saturday. It marks the first time the Red Flash will play back-to-back teams from the Buckeye State since the 2009-10 season after hosting Youngstown State and traveling to Akron on December 16 and 20, 2009.
• The trip to Ohio will also be the first time the squad returns to the Buckeye State since playing Alabama State in the NCAA First Four.
• Franciscan is the only team from the Buckeye State to visit Saint Francis since Youngstown State on November 26, 2011.
• With head coach Luke McConnell on staff, the Red Flash has traveled to Cincinnati (2014), Dayton (2013, 2024), Kent State (2015), Ohio State (2022), and Ohio University (2021). The Frankies are 7-6 against the Buckeye State with McConnell on staff.
• Franciscan (42 games) and Youngstown State (39 games) are the two most common opponents Saint Francis plays from Ohio.
ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 14-13 on the first day of December, including 3-9 on the road.
• Associate head coach Devin Sweetney led the Red Flash to two of those wins away from Loretto. He posted 15 points and seven rebounds in a 57-54 win at Bucknell in 2007, and 19 points and 12 rebounds in a 65-61 win at Morgan State in 2009. During Sweetney's four-year career, he averaged 18.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in the first game Saint Francis played in the month of December in his four seasons and the Red Flash was 3-1, including 2-0 on December 1.
FUN FACT...
• Four Red Flash coaches made their collegiate coaching debut on this date: John Clark (1966, at Duquesne), John Hiller (1969, Old Dominion), Dick Conover (1971, Old Dominion), and Pete Lonergan (1976, Pitt-Johnstown). Clark, Hiller and Lonergan each won their first game at the helm of the Frankies.
