| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Chris Moncrief |
6-6 |
190 |
Sr. |
7.4 |
2.0 |
42.4 |
Scored season-high 15 points on Monday |
| G |
F |
Skylar Wicks |
6-6 |
190 |
R-Sr. |
17.4 |
7.1 |
39.3 |
Career-high six steals against Stonehill |
| G |
15 |
Victor Payne |
6-4 |
190 |
So. |
6.2 |
3.3 |
42.6 |
Ranks second in 3-point percentage in NEC games |
| F |
21 |
Gestin Liberis |
6-9 |
225 |
R-Jr. |
4.8 |
4.7 |
49.2 |
Had key offensive rebound against Stonehill |
| G |
55 |
Ahmad Harrison |
6-1 |
190 |
Sr. |
8.7 |
2.0 |
41.1 |
Hit game-winner against Stonehill |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
1 |
KJ Swain, Jr. |
6-1 |
165 |
R-Sr. |
2.1 |
0.8 |
28.6 |
Career-high seven assists in last home game played |
| G |
2 |
Zion Russell |
6-2 |
185 |
R-Sr. |
11.5 |
3.9 |
38.2 |
10+ points in five of last six tilts |
| G |
3 |
Brandon Russell |
6-5 |
185 |
Fr. |
2.8 |
1.5 |
25.8 |
Led team in assists against LIU |
| G/F |
4 |
Ralph Martino, Jr. |
6-6 |
180 |
So. |
6.7 |
2.4 |
55.4 |
Averaging 7.7 ppg in NEC play |
| G |
7 |
Paris Papadatos |
6-4 |
185 |
Fr. |
6.0 |
1.4 |
39.7 |
Buzzer beater vs FDU was No. 9 on #SCTop10 |
| F |
20 |
Cam Tweedy |
6-6 |
240 |
R-Sr. |
4.2 |
2.7 |
52.3 |
Has four rebounds in six games this season |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS. CHICAGO STATE (FULL GAME NOTES PDF)
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Friday's game between Saint Francis and Chicago State marks the third meeting in the all-time series after the inaugural meetings last year.
• Saint Francis won both meetings last season, including an 80-71 overtime win on March 1, 2025 to wrap up the No. 4 seed. If you remember that game, though, Chicago State had a breakaway dunk missed at the end of regulation that would have made the Red Flash to the fifth seed and a nine-hour bus ride to Stonehill.
• The Red Flash defeated Stonehill on senior's
Ahmad Harrison's buzzer beater on Monday to end an 11-game losing streak on MLK Day in the fourth time the team has played in Loretto on the national holiday.
• In "The Last Boycott," Bill Medley sings that Friday Night's A Great Night For Football," well the Red Flash must like being under the Friday Night Lights since the team is 4-0 on the Friday after MLK with all four of those games being at DeGol Arena.
• Last year, Saint Francis ended LIU's undefeated NEC 6-0 record on January 24, 2025.
Riley Parker had a career-high 29 points playing in front of his father for the first in the US and authors Ty Chapman and John Coy of the the children's book "Stokes: The Brief Career of the NBA's First Black Superstar" were in attendance.
• Eli Wilborn celebrated his 20th birthday on the Friday after MLK Day with a career-high 19 points in win against the Sharks and made ESPN Sports Center Top-10 for his poster dunk at the No. 4 spot on January 19, 2024. Thought we might have had a chance to make it again two years later with Harrison's 35-footer, but it did not make the cut.
• The Red Flash beat St. Francis Brooklyn on the Friday after MLK Day on January 20, 2023, but it did not have major storylines like the 2024 and 2025 affairs.
• However, the first time the Frankies played on this date in recent history had the drama. Myles Thompson scored 17 of his career-high 21 points in the second half to help erase a 12-point deficit on the NEC broadcast and Saint Francis won 67-66 in dramatic fashion on a defensive stand on January 21, 2022.
• Talk about dramatic wins, look at the last nine Division I wins. Saint Francis ended the 2024-25 regular season with three-straight overtime wins, breaking the team record for most consecutive OT games since Stokes played in the 1955 NIT. The Red Flash then won its three NEC Tournament games by three points each. If the shots would have fell for Parker and
Juan Cranford, Jr. they would have been almost buzzer beaters instead of winning the game at the foul line against Wagner in NEC Quarterfinals and LIU in the NEC Semifinals. This season, freshman
Paris Papadatos hits a buzzer beater against FDU for an 85-82 win on January 4, redshirt junior
Gestin Liberis had a great defensive stand in a 71-69 win at Wagner on January 8, and then Harrison's heroics on MLK Day. The last six wins have been decided by three points or less against NEC opponents, and don't forget how the NCAA First Four finished either even though the Red Flash was on wrong end of that result.
• The game against Chicago State ends a three-game homestand. Saint Francis will play five of its next six on the road with a return to DeGol Arena on January 31 the only home game between January 24 and February 14. The game on Valentine's Day will also be the celebration of the 1991 NEC Championship team and the retirement of Joe Anderson and Mike Iuzzolino's jersey numbers.
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Improve NEC record to 4-3
• Win two in a row for the second time this season
• Post back-to-back wins at home for the first time since winning four straight last year (last three regular season, NEC Quarterfinals)
• Be the third win against Chicago State
• Be the fifth win in five years on the Friday after MLK
• Be the fourth win in the last six games
• Be the fifth win at home this season
• Be the third win at DeGol Arena in the last four tilts
ABOUT THE COUGARS
• Chicago State comes into the contest 2-17 overall and 0-6 in NEC play after falling 62-56 to New Haven on Monday.
• The Cougars had the 10th toughest schedule in NCAA Division I, playing four quadrant one teams and four quadrant two teams. Chicago State defeated NET 318 Loyola Chicago 84-75 on December 14 for its lone win against a Division I team.
• CJ Ray paced the Cougars with 17 points against the Chargers. Doyel Cockrill III (14 points), Marcus Cockrill III (14 points), Marcus Tankersley (10 points), and Dailliss Cox (10 points) also registered double figures on Monday.
• Tankersley paces the team with Chicago State with 13.5 points per game, while Cockrill (13.3 ppg) and Ray (12.0 ppg) are also averaging 10+ points per game.
LAST TIME WE MET
• Riley Parker posted 14 of his 22 points in the final six minutes and 38 seconds of the game to propel Saint Francis past Chicago State 80-71 in overtime on March 1, 2025.
• Chris Moncrief posted 12 points and five steals, while Daemar Kelly added 11 points and five rebounds. Jeremy Clayville chipped in 11 points off the bench. Valentino Pinedo registered his first double-double at home with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
• Quincy Allen powered the Cougars with 22 points, while Noble Crawford (16 points), Dailiss Cox (12 points), and Matthew Robinson (10 points, 10 rebounds) also posted double figures.
LAST TIME OUT
• Ahmad Harrison was the latest to hand Saint Francis a dramatic victory with his 3-pointer as time expired to lift the Red Flash past Stonehill 63-61 on Monday.
• Harrison was clutch in the final 63 seconds after he tied the game at 58 on a triple and then hit the buzzer beater.
• It was the second buzzer-beater for the Red Flash in 15 days after Paris Papadatos beat the horn in an 85-82 win against FDU on January 4. Harrison had the assist on Papadatos' game-winner.
• Harrison finished with a team-high 16 points, while Chris Moncrief (15 points) and Skylar Wicks (11 points) also reached double figures.
TRENDING UP
• Senior Ahmad Harrison has posted at least eight points in his last seven games, dating back to the Robert Morris contest on December 20. The senior has registered five 10+ point games in that stretch, including three games with at least 16 points for three of his Top-4 performances this season. Harrison is averaging 12.7 points per game in this stretch. It is not all about the points for the Baltimore native, who has had 23 assists in this stretch, including a career-high seven helpers against CCSU on January 17. Not sure if you are bored of hearing about Harrison, but he has posted four and five rebounds in his last two games, for his Top-2 performances off the rim this season.
• It is tough not to say that the Red Flash are most successful when senior Chris Moncrief reaches double figures, but the team is 3-0 when he reaches double figures, and he is averaging 14.7 points per game in the three conference wins. That is probably why head coach Luke McConnell calls him the ultimate connector or facilitator. The Red Flash is 10-1 when Moncrief scores at least 12 points in a game and 9-1 against NEC teams. If you remember, Moncrief never had a 10-point game until 17 points against Penn State Schuylkill on November 20, 2024, and his first NEC double-figure game on MLK Day last year at Wagner with 13 points on January 20, 2025. The game against the Seahawks was the only time he posted 12 or more points, and Saint Francis lost. Moncrief has registered five rebounds twice in conference play and had a season-high four steals against Stonehill, with his five thefts against Chicago State on March 1, 2025, the only time he was better than a burglar.
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks has posted three-straight games in double figures for the first time since he started his Saint Francis career with 11 consecutive games with at least 10 points. Wicks is averaging 16.3 points and 5.7 points per game in those three tilts. He had eight rebounds against the Skyhawks in his seventh game with at least eight caroms and registered a career-high six steals, marking the eighth time he has had multiple steals in a game, and the third time he has had three or more thefts. You can always have a little help from your friends, as Joe Cocker used to say, and he has 46 assists this season with 10 tilts with at least three assists, including two games with at least six helpers.
• Two streaks ended on Monday. Redshirt senior Zion Russell finished with nine points to end his career-high streak of five straight games in double figures, and sophomore Victor Payne had his two-game streak in double digits halted. Russell is averaging 12.3 points per game in his last six games. Payne has posted back-to-back 10-point performances this season.
• Redshirt junior Gestin Liberis said in the postgame press conference on Monday, "I try to embody being a selfless guy and do whatever I can to help the team get the win." He may have had two of the biggest plays in the last two wins, and most might not have noticed it in the box score. In the 71-69 win at Wagner on January 8, Liberis stood his ground and was not called for a foul as the Seahawks missed a shot as time expired. Harrison does not have a chance to hit the buzzer beater if Liberis does not get an offensive rebound with 63 seconds left and kick out to Harrison for the assist to tie the game at 58 against Stonehill.
• Saint Francis has lost the first game of a weekend both times the Red Flash has been home to start a weekend and then hit the buzzer beater to end the weekend. In the New York road trip, the Frankies won the opener and lost the second tilt.
LEAGUE LEADERS
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks is second in scoring (17.4 ppg), third in defensive rebounds (5.71 rpg), third in minutes played (32.71 mpg), fourth in rebounding (7.1 rpg), fifth in steals (1.65 spg), seventh in 3-pointers made (2.06 pg), ninth in assists (2.71 apg) and 10th in free throw percentage (75.4). Wicks is second in steals (1.83 spg) in league games.
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell ranks seventh in assists (2.81 apg), and 21st in scoring (11.5 ppg).
• Senior Ahmad Harrison ranks fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (41.1), eighth in steals (1.32 spg).
• Sophomore Victor Payne is eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (39.1) overall and second in NEC games (57.1) in the category.
• Saint Francis ranks third in turnover margin (+0.32), fourth in steals (7.79 spg), fourth in 3-pointers made (7.89 pg), fifth in the NEC in scoring (69.5 ppg), fifth in free throw percentage (69.8), fifth in assists (13.53 apg), and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.06). The Red Flash leads the NEC in 3-pointers made (8.83) and ranks second in steals (7.67 spg), second in turnover margin (+3.83), third in scoring offense (71.7 ppg), and third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.35) in league play.
IN THE LO'
• Saint Francis is 4-4 at home this season and is averaging 77.1 points per game and allowing 72.4 points per game.
• The two wins against Division I teams have been by a buzzer beater. Freshman Paris Papadatos' buzzer-beater 85-82 win against FDU on January 4, and senior Ahmad Harrison's buzzer beater against Stonehill for a 63-61 win on January 19.
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks leads the team with 15.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while redshirt senior Zion Russell is averaging 13.1 points per game, and Harrison is now averaging 10.5 points per game at DeGol Arena.
• Wicks has four 10+ point games, a season-high with 24 points against FDU on January 4, and also has a double-double on his resume in the Lo'. Russell registered a career-high 23 points at home against Mount St. Mary's on November 11. The redshirt senior has four 10+ point games at home. Harrison has four double figure games in the Lo', including his last three where he is averaging 15.0 points per game in that stretch.
• Senior Chris Moncrief has two 10+ point games in Red Flash wins with 14 points against FDU and 15 against Stonehill.
• Sophomore Victor Payne have three double-figure point games, while redshirt junior Gestin Liberis has a pair of 10+ point games, and junior Trey Weiand, sophomore Ralph Martino, Jr., and Papdatos each have one 10+ point game this season.
• Saint Francis was 10-4 last season at DeGol Arena and won its last four games in 2024-25. Dating back to that streak, the Red Flash has won seven of its last nine against NEC teams, including the win against Wagner in the NEC Quarterfinals.
ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 7-10 overall, 4-5 at home, and 3-9 in NEC play
• This season marks the 35th Anniversary of the 1991 NEC Championship, but on this date in 1988, head coach Jim Baron and the Red Flash defeated LIU 86-79 in Brooklyn for Baron's first NEC victory.
• The last time Saint Francis played on this date was the Sunday after MLK Day, when the Frankies defeated Sacred Heart 85-74 behind 20 points from Maxwell Land and 17 from Myles Thompson in 2022 at DeGol Arena.
FUN FACTS...
• The Frankies started out 4-0 on this date, including a 98-50 win against Mexico with Maurice Stokes in 1954. The first loss on this date was a 74-62 loss in the nation's capital against Georgetown. You have to wonder if the game was in Loretto, would the result have been different since Saint Francis is 4-0 all-time against the Hoyas in the Lo'?
