Saint Francis University (2-7) at Radford University (3-7)
Date | Time	Sunday, December 7, 2025 | 2:30 p.m.
Location	Radford, Va. | Carilion Clinic Court at the Dedmon Center
Television	ESPN+
Live Stats	Sidearm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | Radford
Stats	Saint Francis | Radford | NEC
Social Media	@RedFlashMBB  | #BELIEVE | @RedFlashMBB | Facebook

 

Saint Francis Probable Starters
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note
G	1	KJ Swain, Jr.	6-1	165	R-Sr.	2.6	0.9	29.6	Career-high seven assists in last game
G	2	Zion Russell	6-2	185	R-Sr.	11.8	4.4	38.5	Averages 11.8 ppg and 5.8 rpg on the road
G	15	Victor Payne	6-4	190	So.	5.9	4.0	38.6	Grabbed a career-high nine boards in. last tilt
F	21	Gestin Liberis	6-9	225	R-Jr.	5.4	4.6	50.0	Hauled in 10 caroms in two of last three games
G	55	Ahmad Harrison	6-1	190	Sr.	6.9	1.9	42.9	Ranks fifth in NEC in steals
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 six games
G	3	Brandon Russell	6-5	185	Fr.	4.0	2.1	25.0	Career-high 7 pts, 8 rebs, 6 asts in last game
G/F	4	Ralph Martino, Jr.	6-6	180	So.	6.4	2.3	61.5	Career-high 12 points in last gamer
G	7	Paris Papadatos	6-4	185	Fr.	10.5	2.5	44.4	Career-high 19 points in first home game
G	F	Skylar Wicks	6-6	190	R-Sr.	19.0	8.6.5	37.2	Tied career high six assists at Xavier
F	20	Cam Tweedy	6-6	240	R-Sr.	5.3	3.7	51.3	Five rebounds in two of last three tilts

SELECT GAME NOTES VS. RADFORD (FULL GAME NOTES PDF) 

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Sunday's game between Saint Francis and Radford marks the second meeting in the all-time series after the two teams squared off for the first time last season in Loretto.
• The Red Flash is 3-4 against the Big South Conference and 1-2 on the road. The one road win against the conference was also the team's last in the state of Virginia, an 83-56 victory on November 24, 2017, at Longwood.  Saint Francis head coach Luke McConnell was a member of the coaching staff when the Red Flash went 2-0 against Longwood.
• Along with its 0-1 record against the Highlanders, Saint Francis is 2-0 against the Lancers, 1-1 against Liberty, and 0-2 against UNC Greensboro. Saint Francis lost 84-67 to Liberty on December 4, 2006, and 67-47 to UNC Greensboro on January 2, 1996, in the other two road games against the Big South. Interesting note about the two games against Liberty: both took place during the 2006-07 season, in a rare home-and-home series.
• There are 37 first-year head coaches in NCAA Division I, and this will be the first time that McConnell and Radford head coach Zach Chu will battle a fellow first-year head coach this season. McConnell will face a first-year head coach in NEC play with Dwan MacMillian at Wagner, while Chu will see two first-year head coaches once the Highlanders get to Big South competition (Flynn Clayman [High Point], Ronnie Thomas [Longwood]).
• Chu and the Red Flash head coach are not familiar with each other on the court, with this being the first encounter, but Chu is familiar with McConnell's cousin, T.J. McConnell, after Chu was the Manager of Game Strategy and Analytics for the Indiana Pacers from 2021-24. T.J. has played with the Pacers since 2019, including leading them to game seven of the NBA Championship in 2025.
• McConnell and Chu also share the fact that they both have two wins against two non-Division I teams; Chu does have a Division I win against Western Illinois in his head coach debut. If the Red Flash can defeat Radford on Sunday, McConnell would earn his first Division I win on the same day that his father did 33 years ago. The elder McConnell's first win was a 56-51 win at Buffalo on Monday, December 7, 1992.
• Saint Francis being home for Christmas may only be in its dreams at the moment since the team will start the month of December with four of five on the road. The Red Flash started the month in Cincinnati, Ohio, at Xavier on December 1 before returning home for a game on December 3. Sunday's trek to Virginia to face Radford begins a three-game homestand that will see the Red Flash return to its home state to play at Temple in Philadelphia on December 14 before wrapping up the road swing at No. 15 and the defending national champion Florida on December 17. Saint Francis will then be home for Christmas and the New Year for its first of two three-game homestands during NEC play, starting with its annual game before Christmas against Robert Morris on December 20 in Loretto.

AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's third win of the season
• Be the team's first win on the road in 2025-26
• Give head coach Luke McConnell the victory in the battle of first-year head coaches
• Be Saint Francis' first win in the state of Virginia since defeating Longwood 83-56 on November 24, 2017
• Start the three-game road trip off on the right foot
• Be the first victory against a Division I opponent
• Split the series with Radford

ABOUT THE HIGHLANDERS
• Radford comes into the contest 3-7 after falling to Southern Miss 82-75 on December 3. The Highlanders are 0-2 against quadrant one teams (UNC, SMU), 0-1 against quadrant two (South Carolina), 0-3 against quadrant three teams (UNC Wilmington, Southern Miss, Wright State), and 1-1 against quadrant four teams (Cleveland State, Western Illinois). Radford opened the season with an 80-75 win against Western Illinois, whois 0-7 on the year, on November 3 for its only win against a Division I team.
• Tyson Brown (19 points), Jaylon Johnson (18 points), Del Jones (15 points), and Dennis Parker, Jr. (10 points) scored 10+ points in the Highlanders' last game.
• Parker leads the team with 16.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while Jones is second with 15.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Jones played at Clemson last season and had five points and two rebounds against Saint Francis on November 8, 2024, at Littlejohn Coliseum. Brown has a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game. 

LAST TIME WE MET
• Saint Francis fell 79-70 to Radford on December 1, 2025, at DeGol Arena.
• Juan Cranford, Jr. and Bobby Rosenberger III paced the Red Flash with 15 points apiece. Riley Parker tallied 14 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
• Brandon Maclin powered the Highlanders with 22 points, and Josiah Harris chipped in 12 points. 

LAST TIME OUT
• Paris Papadatos and Trey Weiand both produced career nights to power Saint Francis past Penn State Shenango 100-41 on December 3.
• Papadatos shot 7-for-14 from the floor, 3 of 7 from behind the arc, and made both free throws on his way to a game-high 19 points. Weiand was 7-for-12 from the floor and 3 of 6 from 3-point land to finish with 17 points.
• Ralph Martino, Jr. also had a career-high 12 points and seven rebounds, while Zion Russell also registered 12 points.
• Saint Francis scored 100 points for the first time since a 104-55 win against Franciscan on December 19, 2024.
• The 64 rebounds marked the first time the Red Flash had 60 rebounds in a game since against Franciscan on November 15, 2021. It was also the first time the Frankies had 20 offensive rebounds since at FDU on February 17, 2024.

TRENDING UP
• Freshman Paris Papadatos had to wait to step on the hardwood for the first time after sustaining an injury the night before the season opener at Oklahoma on November 3. The freshman finally made his collegiate debut in the final four minutes against Xavier on December 1 and then got his first taste of basketball in the 'Lo against Penn State Shenango on December 3. After starting his collegiate career 1-for-9, Papadatos hit 7 of his last 9 shots against Penn State Shenango and finished with a game-high 19 points. The freshman has played 20 minutes in two games and has 21 points.
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell is averaging 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in his last two tilts. Russell posted back-to-back 10+ point games for the second time this season. He is looking to reach double digits in three consecutive games for the first time in his time in Loretto, but he did turn the trick twice with Niagara last year.
• Junior Trey Weiand is averaging 10.0 points per game in his last three games. The walk-on and former Red Flash football player had nine points against Franciscan on November 29, four points against Xavier, and a career-high 17 points against Penn State Shenango. Head coach Luke McConnell said after the last game, "Trey just embodies everything we want when you wear the Saint Francis uniform. I can't take him off the floor because he sets the tone with his effort and everything he does to the highest of his ability." 
• Redshirt junior Gestin Liberis  is averaging 10.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in his last three tilts. Liberis has matched his career high in boards with 10 twice in the last three games and had a career-best 16 points against Franciscan. After missing last year with an injury, the redshirt junior is starting to return to the form he was in at the end of the 2023-24 season, when he averaged 11.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in his last four contests that season.
• Sophomore Ralph Martino, Jr. is averaging 10.5 points per game in his last two tilts. The sophomore had a career-high nine points at Xavier and then bested that total with 12 points along with a season-high six rebounds against Penn State Shenango.
• After dishing out four assists in his first six collegiate games, freshman Brandon Russell has 12 helpers in his last three games. The freshman also had a career-high seven points and eight rebounds in his last game. 
• Saint Francis has dished out at least 20 assists in its last three games. The Red Flash has not turned that trick dating back to at least the 1997-98 season, but came close in 2004-05 when the squad had three of four games with 20 or more assists and narrowly missed four in a row, finishing with 19 from December 4-19, 2004.

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.), fourth  in assists per game (3.3), fifth in free throw percentage (82.8), fifth in 3-pointers per game (2.1), and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (0.9).
• Wicks ranks 15th in defensive rebounds per game (6.83), 22nd in minutes per game, 56th in rebounding, 59th in scoring and 76th in double-doubles (2) in NCAA Division I.
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell is eighth in assists per game (2.9), 10th in minutes played (30.6),  and 16th in scoring (11.8 ppg.).
• Senior Ahmad Harrison is fifth in steals per game (1.6).
• Saint Francis ranks second in the NEC in free throw percentage (72.5), third in team defensive rebounds (26.3), third in team offensive rebounds (11.7), third in steals (7.78), fourth in rebounding (38.0), and fourth in assists (14.4). 

SWEET, SWEET VIRGINIA, ALWAYS LEAVES AN OPEN DOOR
• Saint Francis is 21-23 all-time against the state of Virginia. The Red Flash is 6-18 on the road against the Old Dominion.
• Head coach Luke McConnell visited Virginia seven times as an assistant coach from 2017-21, but "Me and sweet Virginia will await for your return" for the first time since playing at Liberty on December 3, 2021. 
•The Red Flash defeated Longwood in Farmsville, 83-56, on November 24, 2017, for the team's first win that season. That was the first of seven trips in a four-year span to Virginia, but Eddie From Ohio was wrong because "she was not the best of 13 sisters" since the Frankies lost the next six games in the state. Granted, those games were against Virginia Tech (2018, 2021), Virginia (2020), VCU (2019), Richmond (2019), and Liberty (2021).
• The biggest win against the state of Virginia might be a 73-65 win against Virginia Tech on December 5, 1950. The Hokies finished 19-10 that season, and the Frankies finished 19-4 in the final season before Maurice Stokes arrived on campus and the Golden Era of Saint Francis men's basketball began.
NOTE: The header and a couple of quotes in this section are lyrics from a song by the band Eddie From Ohio called Old Dominion from 1999.

ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 11-14 on this date, including 4-11 on the road
• The Red Flash defeated Buffalo 56-51 on this date in 1992 for Tom McConnell's first win as a head coach. Deon George, who scored the go-ahead basket with 5:11 left, finished with eight points and nine rebounds. Bryan Gandee paced Saint Francis with 11 points in the first win of the season. 
FUN FACT...
• Maurice Stokes began is final season in a Saint Francis uniform on this date in 1954 in a 66-41 win against Saint Vincent in Latrobe, Pa. Stokes registered 760 points and 733 rebounds in his senior campaign to lead the Frankies all the way to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals, and Stokes was named the unanimous Most Valuable Player of the tournament despite Saint Francis finishing fourth.