Saint Francis (14-17, 8-8 NEC) at LIU (17-15, 12-6 NEC)
Date | Time	Saturday, March 8, 2025 | 12:00 p.m.
Location	Brooklyn, N.Y. | Steinberg Wellness Center
Television	ESPN+ | Pittsburgh Sports Net (Craig D'Amico, play-by-play; Ryan Peters, color analyst)
Live Stats	Sidearm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | LIU
Stats	Saint Francis | LIU | Northeast Conference
Social Media	@RedFlashMBB  | #BELIEVE | @RedFlashMBB | Facebook

 

Saint Francis Probable Starters
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note
G	0	Chris Moncrief	6-6	190	Jr.	5.9	2.5	53.1	Career-high six steals against Chicago State
G	4	Juan Cranford, Jr.	6-3	205	Fr.	9.5	4.1	45.4	Fourth Red Flash player named NEC Rookie of the Year
G	5	Daemar Kelly	6-5	195	So.	8.3	3.2	43.5	Nine straight 10+ point games
G	11	Riley Parker	6-2	195	Jr.	13.6	3.5	48.8	Career-high 29 points in last tilt with LIU
F	31	Valentino Pinedo	6-8	230	Jr.	10.1	6.8	56.8	Back-to-back 10+ rebound games for first time in career
Top Players Off the Bench
Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	FG%	Note
G	2	Ace Talbert	6-0	185	So.	10.2	2.8	35.4	Out for the year with an injury
F	3	Miles Webb	6-8	190	Jr.	3.9	3.0	59.4	Only player with points-rebounds double-double at home
G	7	Jeremy Clayville	6-0	160	Fr.	8.1	1.5	41.4	Named to the NEC All-Rookie Team
G	14	Bobby Rosenberger III	6-5	205	So.	9.0	3.9	40.3	Needs 51 points for 600 for his career
G	15	Victor Payne	6-4	190	Fr.	2.0	1.5	39.5	Had a big 3 against FDU on February 22
F	21	Gestin Liberis	6-9	225	Jr.	---	---	---	Out for the year with an injury
G	23	Wisler Sanon II	6-4	190	Jr.	1.6	1.3	35.3	Only active player that played in last NEC semifinal game
F	32	Aidan Harris	6-7	205	So.	1.8	2.0	55.6	Five rebounds against FDU on February 22

SELECT GAME NOTES VS. LIU (FULL GAME NOTES PDF) | ALL-NEC RELEASE | MATCHUP RELEASE

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Saturday's game between Saint Francis and LIU marks the 91st meeting in the all-time series, dating back to the 1963-64 season. The Sharks lead the series 46-44, but the two teams have split the season series the last two seasons, with the home team winning each time.
• LIU leads the series 29-12 in Brooklyn with a 15-4 record at the Wellness Center and a 14-8 record at the old historic Paramount Theatre. Like many players and coaches who played in the Paramount, Saint Francis head coach Rob Krimmel was a huge fan of the old home of the then-nicknamed Blackbirds.
• Saint Francis won a game while being held in the 50s for the first time this season. The Red Flash scored 58 points against Wagner on Wednesday, tied for the third-lowest point total this year in its win against Wagner. The lowest points scored in 2024-25 occurred on January 18 at the Steinberg Wellness Center, with 51 points against the Sharks. The Red Flash improved to 1-6 when it stays in the 50s. Since February 6, the squad's fewest points posted were 67 at CCSU before the game against the Seahawks on February 15. The Frankies are averaging 76.5 points per game since Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow.
• Conversely, the 55 points allowed to Wagner are the fewest given to an NCAA Division I team. It was the second time the Red Flash kept a team under 60 against an NEC opponent after allowing 59 points against Mercyhurst on January 10. The Red Flash allowed 57 points to Penn State Schuylkill (November 20), 55 points to Penn State Shenango (December 4), and 47 points against Franciscan (December 19), three NCAA Division I teams. While the game against the Sharks was the fewest points scored this season, it was also the fewest points allowed, with 64 points against an NCAA Division I team on the road.
• Saint Francis has won its last four games, marking the first four-game winning streak for the Flash since winning the first four conference games of the 2022-23 season. The last time the Frankies won more than two consecutive in a season was also the 2022-23 season when it was victorious in three straight tilts, which included a 92-82 win at LIU on February 18, 2023, for the last win in Brooklyn.
• Saint Francis entered the NEC Tournament on a three-game or more winning streak for the fourth time in program history. In the 1990 NEC Tournament, the Red Flash won three consecutive tilts before falling 65-52 to No. 5 FDU in the quarterfinals at DeGol Arena. The following year, the Frankies went into the NEC Tournament on a four-game winning streak and went on to win its only NEC Tournament title as the No. 1 seed in 1991. The 2017-18 team won the final five games of the regular season before falling 84-75 to FDU in the 3/6 game in the 2018 NEC Tournament.
• With a win on Saturday, Saint Francis would advance to the NEC Championship Game for the fourth time under Krimmel and the fifth time in team history, looking for its first NEC Tournament title since 1991.

AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Advance to the NEC championship game for the first time since the 2019-20 season, and the fifth time in team history
•Notch its fifth-straight win, the longest winning streak since the 2019-20 season
• Be the first road NEC Tournament win since defeating Wagner 71-70 on March 4, 2017 (Keith Braxton game-winner, you might have heard about it)
• Be the first win at the Wellness Center since 2022-23

SAINT FRANCIS NEC TOURNAMENT: 30 FOR 30 
1. Saint Francis is making its 30th appearance in the Northeast Conference Tournament in the 44-year history of the league
2. The Red Flash is looking for its first NEC Tournament title since 1990-91
3. The Frankies have advanced to the NEC Championship Game in 2016-17, 2018-19, and 2019-20 under head coach Rob Krimmel
4. Saint Francis will be the third seed in the tournament for the third time in program history (2018, 2023)
5. The Red Flash is 16-29 all-time in the NEC Tournament and holds a 10-7 record as a Top-4 seed
6. Saint Francis is 4-25 in the NEC Tournament on the road, including 1-3 in the NEC Semifinals
7. The last time the Frankies were in the NEC Semifinals, they lost 70-50 to No. 2 FDU in 2023, giving the Knights the recipe on how to defend Zach Edey to help them win the NCAA first round matchup against Purdue
8. Saint Francis's only win on the road in the NEC Semifinals was a  71-70 win in Staten Island in the on March 4, 2017, thanks to Keith Braxton's 3-point buzzer-beater
9. This will be the third time Saint Francis will travel for the NEC Semifinals after hosting a game in the quarterfinals (the Red Flash
are 1-1 in these games referenced above)
10. It is the fifth meeting against LIU in the NEC Tournament, but and second in the NEC Semifinals, and first semifinal tilt in Brooklyn
11. The Birdbirds, err Sharks, defeated Saint Francis in the NEC Quarterfinals in Brooklyn 76-67 on March 3, 2005 and 90-75 on March 3, 2011, while the Frankies wins in the series were a 103-79 victory at DeGol Arena in an 8/9 play-in game on February 28, 1994 and a 74-62 win on March 9, 2019 in the semifinals
12. It is not the first Brooklyn team it has faced in  the round after defeating St. Francis Brooklyn 96-70 in the NEC Semifinals on February 28, 1991, in Loretto, and falling in Brooklyn against the top-ranked Terriers 68-48 at the Pope PE Center on March 7, 2015
13. LIU will host the NEC Semifinals for the fifth time in program history and the fourth time at the Steinberg Wellness Center (1997, 2011, 2012, 2018) and each of the previous four times the Sharks won the semifinals game on their way to the title
14. The third seed is 7-20 in the NEC Semifinals (the last time a No. 3 seed won a semifinal game was LIU in 2013 when they upset No. 2 Wagner 94-82 when the Sharks completed their three-peat)
15. The third seed has won the NEC Championship in 1996 (Monmouth), 2006 (Monmouth) and 2013 (LIU)
16. The third seed has advanced to the title bout and lost in 1997 (Monmouth), 2000 (Robert Morris), 2011 (Robert Morris) and 2012 (Robert Morris)
17. It will be the second time in NEC history a .500 team will have a Top-4 seed and the first time two teams with a .500 record finished in the Top-4 (Robert Morris, Mount St. Mary's, and FDU finished tied for fourth in 2006-07 and Robert Morris won the tiebreaker)
18. Freshman Juan Cranford, Jr. is the fourth NEC Rookie of the Year in Red Flash history, joining Dashan Luckey (2002-03), Malik Harmon (2012-13) and Keith Braxton (2016-17) | After being tabbed as the Rookie of the Year, Luckey registered 14 points in a 75-57 loss to Quinnipiac in the NEC Quarterfinals on March 3, 2003 | Braxton registered 22 points and 10 rebounds in a 100-78 win against Bryant at DeGol Arena on March 1, 2017, and then had 15 points and eight rebounds with the game-winning shot against Wagner in the NEC Semifinals on March 4, 2017 | Cranford had 11 points against Wagner in the NEC Quarterfinals
19. The 58 points scored by Saint Francis was tied for the third lowest point total scored in a quarterfinal win | Marist scored 52 points in a quarterfinal win in 1985, Saint Francis beat Bryant 55-54 in the quarters in 2014 and Robert Morris also had 58 points in a quarterfinals win in 2004
20. The 58 points were the sixth lowest point total in a win in tournament history | Along with the quarterfinal games, Monmouth (57, 1996 NEC Semifinals), Monmouth 49, 2006 NEC Championship Game), Robert Morris (48, 2009 NEC Championship Game) were lower | NOTE: FDU also scored 58 points in the 2005 NEC title run in the championship game
21. This will be the 26th 2/3 matchup in the NEC Semifinals with the No. 2 seed winning 18 of the 25 battles and moving onto the championship
22. LIU is 9-9 in the NEC Semifinals, and 8-1 when it is the higher seed (its only loss as a higher seed in the semifinals was a 92-91 triple overtime game against Marist in a 6/7 matchup)
23. The Sharks are the No. 2 seed for the second time in team history and picked up their first win as a two seed with its win against Chicago State on Wednesday (LIU lost as the No. 2 seed to Robert Morris in 2017)
24. The most points Saint Francis has scored in a quarterfinal game was 100 against Bryant in 2017
25. Mike Iuzzolino holds the Saint Francis record for most points in a tournament game after registering 32 points against FDU in the NEC Championship Game on March 2, 1991
26. Ronnie Drinnon holds the Red Flash record for rebounds in a game in the NEC Tournament with 22 against FDU in the NEC Quarterfinals on March 2, 2016 (Drinnon also had 18 rebounds against Bryant on March 5, 2014)
27. Since the Red Flash has gone to overtime in three of its last four games, it is worth noting that 11 games NEC Tournament games have gone to overtime (five quarterfinals, five semifinals, and one championship game)
28. The 2/3 game has gone to overtime three times, and the two seed won two of the three with a Monmouth 73-69 double overtime win as the No. 3 seed against FDU in 1997, the only defeat
29. Krimmel is 10-10 in the NEC Tournament, and with one win, and became the 12th head coach in NEC history to reach double figures in NEC Tournament wins with his win on Wednesday (Wagner's Donald Copeland is the next active head coach with three tournament wins)
30. Before the Red Flash 55-54 win against Bryant on March 5, 2014, the team had not won a tournament game since February 26, 1995

ABOUT THE SHARKS
• LIU comes into the contest 17-15 overall after finishing second in the NEC with a 12-6 record. The Sharks defeated No. 7 Chicago State 68-57 in the NEC Quarterfinals on Wednesday. LIU is 12-4 at home in 2024-25, including 8-1 against NEC opponents in Brooklyn. The Sharks' only loss at home was a 63-50 defeat by the NEC regular-season champion CCSU on January 30.  
• Malachi Davis, an All-NEC first-team performer, paced the Sharks with a career-high 35 points against the Cougars, the sixth most in an NEC Tournament game.  Jamal Fuller, an All-NEC second-team, added 13 points, and All-Rookie team honoree Shadrak Lasu tallied 10 points and 12 rebounds. 
• Malachi Davis leads the team with 17.7 points per game and is tied Brent Davis, a member of the NEC All-Defensive team, for the team lead with 56 steals. Fuller is second on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg.) and rebounding (6.0 rpg.), while Lasu powers the team on the boards (7.3 rpg.) Terell Strickland leads the team in assists (110).

LIU-SAINT FRANCIS: PART ONE
• LIU defeated Saint Francis 64-51 on January 18 in Brooklyn.
• Freshman Juan Cranford, Jr. paced the Red Flash with 10 points. Junior Riley Parker and sophomore Daemar Kelly each had eight points. It was one of only two times that Parker was held to single digits in league play. 
• Malachi Davis paced the Sharks with 23 points. Jamal Fuller added 10 points and eight rebounds. 

LIU-SAINT FRANCIS: PART DUEX
• Junior Riley Parker had a career-high 29 points to lead Saint Francis past LIU 74-64 on January 24 in front of a very special guest. Parker, who hails from Australia, played in front of his father for the first time in the United States and the first time in three years after his father traveled 26 hours to see his son play in front of almost 1,000 fans at DeGol Arena.
• Sophomore Daemar Kelly has been tasked to play defense on the No. 1 scorer for many teams this season, and on Friday, he held the Sharks leading scorer to four points on a 2-for-21 shooting and 0-for-6 from the field. Kelly was key on both ends of the floor, posting a then career-high 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.
• Junior Valentino Pinedo tallied 12 points and nine rebounds, while freshman Juan Cranford, Jr. chipped in 11 points.
• Jamal Fuller paced the Sharks with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Blake Lander added 12 points.
• LIU came into the night as the 13th team in NEC history to start league play 6-0. The Red Flash became the fifth time to end the streak at six.

LAST TIME OUT
• Primetime Parker struck again. Junior Riley Parker was fouled on a 3-point attempt with two seconds remaining and knocked down all three charity tosses. Wagner had a desperation heave at the end, but it fell short, and Saint Francis survived and advanced with a 58-55 win against the No. 6 Seahawks in the NEC Quarterfinals on Wednesday.
• Parker finished with 16 points thanks to his three charity tosses and also hit a halfcourt shot at the first-half buzzer to give the Red Flash a three-point lead.
• Sophomore Daemar Kelly posted 13 points and six rebounds, while freshman Juan Cranford, Jr. added 11 points. Junior Valentino Pinedo narrowly had his second straight double-double after finishing with eight points and 11 rebounds.

TRENDING UP
• "When there is something bad, and it doesn't look good, who are you going to call?" Ray Parker, Jr. may say to call Ghostbusters, but in Loretto and another person with the surname Parker might be a better call. Junior Riley Parker has been instrumental in the Red Flash's four-game winning streak down the stretch of each game. Parker gave the Frankies a 73-71 lead in OT against Le Moyne on February 20, but sophomore Daemar Kelly ultimately scored the go-ahead basket. Parker then helped seal the win against FDU on February 22 after sophomore Chris Moncrief registered the go-ahead basket but also had 11 points in a 23-8 run to help force overtime. In the regular season finale, he registered 14 of his 22 points in the final seven minutes of the game and then was fouled with 2.1 seconds left in overtime, made three at the free throw line to send Saint Francis into the NEC Semifinals on March 5. With the Red Flash heading to New York for the semifinals, we will see if anything (Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man?) can stand in his way. Parker only had eight points in the first meeting with the Sharks.

• Dr. Peter Venkman had a proton pack to help defend against the ghosts, but in "Space Jam," Bill Murray did not play defense. Kelly has shown that he can score with double figures in his last eight and nine of his previous 10, but his defense has also helped the Red Flash this season. Kelly can probably give Murray some defensive tips after holding three of the All-NEC first-team performances to some low-point totals of the season. LIU's Malachi Davis (2-for-21, 4 points, January 24), Mercyhurst's Jeff Planutis (2-for-12, 7 points, January 10), FDU's Terrence Brown (5-for-15, 15 points - five from the free throw line). Kelly did not have to face his teammate Parker.   
• After not registering double digits in rebounds at home all year, junior Valentino Pinedo reached the mark in his last two games thanks to 10 points and 10 rebounds against Chicago State and 11 rebounds against Wagner (narrowly missing a double-double by two points). It was the first time in his career that he has registered 10+ rebounds in consecutive games. The junior has five 10+ rebound games and three double-doubles this season, including two in the state of Pennsylvania and one in the state of New York (12 points, 11 rebounds at Wagner on January 20).
• Freshman Juan Cranford, Jr. has registered double figures in three of his last four games and is averaging 11.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game despite being held without a rebound for only the second time in his career. The freshman, who had two assists against Wagner, has been held without an assist twice in the 18 games he has started.

ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 2-0 on this date with a pair of wins in Loretto. 
• The Red Flash defeated Duquesne in 1958 before the Frankies appeared in the National Invitation Tournament for the first time without Maurice Stokes and the final time under legendary head coach Dr. William "Skip" Hughes.
• The Red Flash also defeated Baltimore 75-68 in 1983 for the program's first tournament win in the then ECAC Metro South Tournament (now known as the Northeast Conference). The Red Flash, who won its 17th league tournament game on Wednesday, posted its second tournament victory in 1989 before earning its third and fourth win on its way to the NEC Championship in 1991 for its only tournament title.
FUN FACT
• This will be the first known road game on this date in team history.