LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis men's basketball continues its quest for its second Northeast Conference (NEC) championship against second-seed LIU on Saturday afternoon at the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Game time is noon.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students with college I.D. and children between the ages of 5 and 18 years of age.

In the other semifinal matchup on Saturday, top seed CCSU (24-6, 14-2 NEC) hosts No. 4 FDU (13-19, 8-8 NEC) at 2 p.m. Both games will air on ESPN+, YES, SportsNet Pittsburgh, NESN+, and NEC Front Row. Craig D'Amico and Ryan Peters will have the call for the Red Flash-Sharks game.

The winners of the semifinals move on to the NEC Championship Game at the highest remaining seed on Tuesday, March 11. Game time is 7 p.m. and will air on ESPN2.

Saint Francis advanced to the NEC Semifinals after defeating Wagner 58-55 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Junior Riley Parker made three free throws with 2.1 seconds left to provide the difference and had a team-high 16 points. Sophomore Daemar Kelly (Pittsburgh, Pa.) (13 points) and Juan Cranford, Jr. (Dayton, Ohio) (11 points) also registered double figures in the win. 

LIU advanced to the semifinals thanks to Wednesday's 68-57 win against No. 7 Chicago State. Malachi Davis paced the Sharks with a career-high 35 points against the Cougars, the sixth most in an NEC Tournament game. Jamal Fuller added 13 points, and Shadrak Lasu tallied 10 points and 12 rebounds. 

All-NEC first-team performer Parker paces Saint Francis (14-17, 8-8 NEC) with 13.6 points per game and 106 assists. He ranks fifth in assists (3.42), sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.34), sixth in field goal percentage (48.8), seventh in 3-pointers made (1.88), seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (39.5), eighth in scoring (13.6 ppg.), and eighth in minutes played (31.55). Junior Valentino Pinedo (Murcia, Spain), an All-NEC third-team honoree, leads the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg.) and is second in scoring (10.2 ppg.). Pinedo ranks third in the circuit in field goal percentage (56.8), third in rebounding, and ninth in blocks (0.65). Freshman Juan Cranford, Jr. (Dayton, Ohio), the NEC Rookie of the Year, leads the team in steals (32) and ranks second in rebounding (4.1 rpg.), second in assists (61), and third in scoring (9.5 ppg.). Sophomore Bobby Rosenberger III (Quakertown, Pa.) sits third on the squad in rebounding (3.9 rpg.) and fourth in scoring (9.0 ppg.).

Malachi Davis, an All-NEC first-team performer, leads the team with 17.7 points per game and is tied with Brent Davis, a member of the NEC All-Defensive team, for the team lead with 56 steals. Fuller, an All-NEC second-team selection, is second on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg.) and rebounding (6.0 rpg.), while Lasu, an All-NEC Rookie team selection, powers the team on the boards (7.3 rpg.) Terell Strickland leads the team in assists (110).

Saint Francis and LIU split the season series with the home team coming away with the victory both times. Cranford led the Red Flash with 10 points in LIU's 64-51 win in Brooklyn on January 18, while Parker scored a career-high 29 points against the Sharks in Loretto in a 74-64 victory on January 24 for the Flash. Pinedo (12 points) and Cranford (11 points) also found double figures in the game at DeGol Arena. Malachi Davis paced the Sharks with 23 points in Brooklyn, while Fuller registered 10 points on his home court and a team-high 25 points in Loretto. Blake Lander recorded 12 points in the second meeting.

LIU leads the all-time series against Saint Francis, 46-44, and holds a 15-4 record at the Wellness Center and a 29-12 record overall on its home court. It will be the fifth meeting in the NEC Tournament, with each team winning twice on its home court. The last time these two teams met in the NEC Tournament, the Red Flash defeated the Sharks 72-64 in the NEC Semifinals in 2019.

Saint Francis is making its 30th appearance in the NEC Tournament. The Loretto program is 16-28 all-time in the league postseason but holds a 10-7 record as a Top-4 seed. Saint Francis won the NEC Championship in the 1990-91 campaign as the No. 1 seed. The Red Flash is the No. 3 seed for the third time, joining the 2017-18 and 2022-23 teams. 

LIU is making its 36th appearance in the NEC Tournament. The Sharks are 38-29 all-time in the league postseason with six tournament titles.

Rob Krimmel is in his 13th season as the head coach at Saint Francis. Krimmel has led his alma mater to the postseason for the fourth straight season and the 11th time. He holds a 10 -10 record in the NEC Tournament.

In his third season as head coach at Wagner, Ron Strickland is 1-2 in the NEC Tournament and picked up his first tournament win on Wednesday.