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| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| GÂ |
1 |
KJ Swain, Jr. |
6-1 |
165 |
R-Sr. |
2.1 |
0.6 |
35.3 |
Made first career start at Xavier |
| G |
2 |
Zion Russell |
6-2 |
185 |
R-Sr. |
11.8 |
4.6 |
37.2 |
Matched career high with eight rebounds at Xavier |
| GÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
F |
Skylar Wicks |
6-6 |
190 |
R-Sr. |
19.0 |
8.6.5 |
37.2 |
Tied career high six assists at Xavier |
| G |
15 |
Victor Payne |
6-4 |
190 |
So. |
5.8 |
1.9 |
37.8 |
Had a career-high 15 points and 8 rebounds in last home game |
| FÂ Â Â Â |
21 |
Gestin Liberis |
6-9 |
225 |
R-Jr. |
5.4 |
3.9 |
37.8 |
Posted double figures in last two 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 |
3 |
Brandon Russell |
6-5 |
185 |
Fr. |
3.6 |
1.4 |
21.1 |
Career-high four assists vs Xavier |
| G/F |
4 |
Ralph Martino, Jr. |
6-6 Â Â |
180 |
So. |
5.8 |
1.9 |
62.1 |
Career-high nine points at Xavier |
| G |
7 |
Paris Papadatos |
6-4 |
185 |
Fr. |
2.0 |
1.0 |
20.0 |
Made collegiate debut on Monday |
| F |
20 Â Â |
Cam Tweedy |
6-6 |
240 |
R-Sr. |
5.5 |
3.5 |
50.0 |
9 points, 8 rebounds in last home game |
| G |
55 Â Â Â |
Ahmad Harrison |
6-1 |
190 |
Sr. |
7.4 |
2.0 |
42.6 |
Ranks in the Top-10 in NEC in steals |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS. PENN STATE SHENANGOÂ (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF)Â
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Wednesday's game between Saint Francis and Penn State Shenango marks the second meeting in the all-time series after the two teams met for the first time last season in Loretto.
'• The Red Flash defeated the Lions 107-55 almost one year ago to the day, after playing on December 4 last season.
• This is the only Penn State branch on the schedule in 2025-26 after playing three branches last season. The Frankies also played the main Penn State campus and Penn State Schuylkill last year. Saint Francis was 2-1 against Penn State schools last season after defeating both Schuylkill and Shenango.
• Saint Francis will play a branch of Penn State for the third straight year after playing the main campus Nittany Lions the previous two campaigns. While it's not the main Penn State branch, it is the first time since 1977-79 that the Frankies have played a Penn State in three consecutive years.
• Head coach
Luke McConnell won his first game as a head coach with an 85-60 win against Franciscan on November 29. Former Red Flash Dave Magarity also won his first game on November 29, 1978, with a 61-52 victory against St. Michael's (Vt.) in 1978.
• McConnell looks to become the first head coach since Magarity to win two of his first three games at home. John Clark (1966), Dick Conover (1971), Pete Lonergan (1973), and Magarity each won their first three games at home to start their Red Flash coaching career.
• McConnell looks to win two of his first three after falling 74-66 to Mount St. Mary's on November 11 and defeating the Barons on Saturday.
• After the game against Penn State Shenango, Saint Francis will embark on its second three-game road trip in a span of 29 days. The Red Flash will travel to Radford, Temple, and Florida from December 7-17. The Red Flash will also return to the Sunshine State to wrap up the road trip for its second time in the state in the 29-day span after playing in Coconut Hoops in Fort Myers, Fla., right before Thanksgiving.
• It will be the team's first trip to Radford in program history, the first time Saint Francis will face Temple since 1970-71, and the second meeting against Florida in program history. The only other time the Frankies played Florida was 1994-95 when McConnell's father, Tom, played the Gators.
• Saint Francis has played three power conference teams, with one more on December 17 against Florida. It is the second consecutive year Saint Francis will play four power conference teams after playing Clemson, Penn State, Georgetown, and Maryland in 2024-25.
• The Red Flash will wrap up non-conference play with what has become a tradition, its annual clash with Robert Morris in the game right before the Christmas break on December 20. It will be the fifth straight year the two former NEC foes will be the present under the Christmas tree for all of the Red Flash-Colonials rivalry fans.Â
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's second win of the season
• Be the team's second win at DeGol Arena in 2025-26
• Be the eighth win in the last nine games at home
• Be the second win in last three games
• Improve to 2-0 against Penn State Shenango
• Be the Lions fourth loss against a Division I team this season
• Be the first win in the month of December
• Give the Red Flash win as it embarks in its final three-game non-conference road trip
ABOUT THE LIONS
• Penn State Shenango comes into the contest 5-3 after defeating Berkeley 92-86 on Monday. This will be the fourth time the Lions have played an NCAA Division I team this season, with all of these games counting as exhibitions for Penn State Shenango. The Lions are averaging 54.3 points per game, while allowing 115.7 points per game in the previous three exhibitions.
• Darius Williams powered Penn State Shenango with 25 points, while Izzy Santiago (23 points), Jordan Dotson (13 points) and Rhys Grocott (11 points, 10 rebounds) also had double figures against Berkeley.
• Santiago leads the team with 25.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Williams (15.8 ppg.) and Washington (13.1 ppg.) are also averaging double figures for the Lions.
LAST TIME WE MET
• Riley Parker and Miles Webb posted their first collegiate double-doubles to lead Saint Francis past Penn State Shenango 107-55 on December 4, 2024.
• Parker became the first player since Ramiir Dixon-Conover in 2021 to record a double-double with points and assists, thanks to his 15 points and 10 assists. Parker also did not commit a turnover in the game.
• Webb tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double and added five assists.Â
• Bobby Rosenberger III led all scorers with 19 points. Juan Cranford, Jr. added 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists, and Victor Payne notched his first 10-point game, along with seven rebounds.
LAST TIME OUT
• Xavier defeated the Red Flash 96-72 in Cincinnati on Monday.
• Skylar Wicks paced Saint Francis with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Zion Russell added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
• Gestin Liberis had six points late in the second half to finish with 10 points.
• KJ Swain, Jr., who grew up 40 miles away from Xavier in Hamilton, Ohio, and was a practice player for the Muskeeteers women's basketball team for two years, made his first career start in the game.
• Paris Papadatos who missed the first seven games due to an injury, made his collegiate debut late in the game, and registered two points and a rebound. The freshman notched his first collegiate points on a jumper with 3:14 left in the game.
TRENDING UP
• Despite missing Saturday's game against Franciscan, redshirt senior Skylar Wicks returned to his scoring prowess with 19 points against Xavier on December 1. He also tied his career high in assists with six. Wicks has posted at least 15 points in all seven games he has played, with five games with 18 points or more. He has registered at least five rebounds in those contests and has reached at least seven boards in his last five games, with a pair of 10+ rebound games. He has also dished out at least three helpers six times and recorded three tilts with two or more steals. He is the ultimate stat stuffer.
• 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. The trend continued on Monday when the redshirt senior posted 15 points at Xavier, the second-most points he has scored in his career. He also had 15 points at Oklahoma on November 3. Russell will try to buck the trend against Penn State Shenango or avoid a national phenomenon run by children. 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.
• Redshirt junior Gestin Liberis reached double figures for the second-straight game with his 10 points on Monday. It was the second time in his career that the redshirt junior posted consecutive 10+ point games. After missing all of last season due to an injury, Liberis is averaging 10.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in his last three contests. Liberis posted a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds in his last game against Franciscan on November 29.
• Sophomore Ralph Martino, Jr. registered a career-high nine points and added three assists on Monday. It was the third time in the last four games that Martino dished out three helpers in a game, and he had a career-high four dimes against Franciscan. The sophomore has 12 assists in eight games in 2025-26 after registering 13 helpers last season at UMES. He had two assists in a game twice with the Hawks.
LEAGUE LEADERS
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks leads the NEC in minutes per game (35.4), and ranks second NEC in scoring (19.0 ppg.), third in rebounding (8.6 rpg.), third in assists per game (3.3), fifth in free throw percentage (82.8), sixth in 3-pointers per game (2.1), and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.9).
• 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 (31.8), eighth in assists per game (2.9). and is 17th in scoring (11.8 ppg.).
• Senior Ahmad Harrison is seventh in steals per game (1.5).
AGAINST THE KEYSTONE
• Wednesday's game against Penn State Shenango marks the second of six games against fellow teams from the Keystone State and the first of three at DeGol Arena..
• Saint Francis, who lost at Lehigh on November 18, will also travel to Temple (December 14) and Mercyhurst (February 5), while the Red Flash will also welcome Robert Morris (December 20), and Mercyhurst (February 14) to Loretto.
• The Red Flash is 233-216-1 all-time against teams from the Keystone State and 49-98 since joining the NEC. The Loretto program is 36-39 at home against the Commonwealth since joining the NEC.Â
• Saint Francis has played the most games against teams from the western part of the state in program history. The Red Flash has tangled with Robert Morris more than any other team in the state, with 93 meetings. Duquesne has been on the squad 75 times, Saint Vincent 65 times, Westminster 43 times, Geneva 39 times, and Pittsburgh 30 times.
ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 13-15 on this date, including 11-1 at home
• Coming off the a 91-85 loss to Pitt on December 1 at DeGol Arena, Mike Iuzzolino and Joe Anderson combined for 53 points to lead Saint Francis past Liberty 73-72 on this date in 1990 (35 years ago). Iuzzolino had 32 points and Anderson added 21 points to start a 14-game winning streak in Loretto that would lead the Red Flash to two wins in the NEC Tournament to claim its first NEC title and a 70-64 win against Fordham in the NCAA Play-in Game to give Saint Francis its first berth in the NCAA Tournament.Â
FUN FACT...
• Saint Francis won the first 11 times on this date, but lost 73-70 to Binghamton on this date in 2016, the last time the Frankies played on this date. The Bearcats took the lead for good with 15 seconds left.
