Saint Francis University (3-12, 1-1 NEC) at Wagner College (6-7, 1-1 NEC)
Date | Time	Thursday, January 8, 2026 | 7 p.m.
Location	Staten Island, N.Y. | Spiro Athletic Center
Television	NEC Front Row (Joey Wahler (pxp); Ryan Peters (analyst))
Live Stats	Sidearm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | Wagner
Stats	Saint Francis | Wagner | NEC
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	Sr.	5.0	0.8	42,3	Season-high 14 points against FDU
G	F	Skylar Wicks	6-6	190	R-Sr.	18.7	7.2.5	40.8	Matched season high with 24 points vs FDU
G	15	Victor Payne	6-4	190	So.	5.9	3.6	38.2	NEC career-high 11 points against Le Moyne
F	21	Gestin Liberis	6-9	225	R-Jr.	4.7	4.6	51.0	Looking for first 10-point game since December 1
G	55	Ahmad Harrison	6-1	190	Sr.	7.3	1.7	40.0	Matched career high with six assists vs FDU
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	4.1	36.7	Dished out 17 assists in last three games played
G	3	Brandon Russell	6-5	185	Fr.	2.9	1.5	26.0	Had five points against FDU
G/F	4	Ralph Martino, Jr.	6-6	180	So.	6.2	2.5	51.5	Six points in first two NEC games
G	7	Paris Papadatos	6-4	185	Fr.	7.4	1.5	41.5	Buzzer beater vs FDU was No. 9 on #SCTop10
F	20	Cam Tweedy	6-6	240	R-Sr.	4.7	3.0	55.4	Has four rebounds in six games this season

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

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• It's a new season with only one player back that played in last year's championship game, but Saint Francis would like to experience "deja vu all over again," as Yogi Berra would say, with the next three games being a repeat of the road to the 2025 NEC Championship, but in the regular season.
• Last season, the Red Flash defeated Wagner 53-50 at DeGol Arena on March 5 in the NEC Quarterfinals, LIU 71-68 on March 8 in Brooklyn in the NEC Semifinals, and CCSU 46-43 in the NEC Championship Game on March 11. Saint Francis plays those exact opponents in that order, but with location changes for Wagner (Staten Island) and CCSU (Loretto).
• Saint Francis just won its first Division I game in 2025-26 against FDU, 85-82, or by the same three-point margin the Red Flash won each of the tournament games by last season. So, the Loretto program has won its last four Division I games by a margin of three points each.
• Saint Francis and Wagner will meet for the 87th time, dating back to the 1956-57 season, and the 46th clash in Staten Island.
• The Seahawks have won six of the last seven meetings in New York. The one win for the Frankies in that stretch was a 68-63 win at the Spiro Sports Center on January 7, 2022, the last time Saint Francis won its NEC road opener.
• That win against the Seahawks is one of only two NEC road opening wins since 2007-08. The Red Flash defeated LIU in Brooklyn 74-67 on January 10 for the other win in the last 18 years.
• Head coach Luke McConnell looks to become the first head coach to win in an NEC road opener in his first season. It is a feat none of his seven predecessors accomplished, but the team has won only its first NEC road test nine times in the 45 years in the league.
• While McConnell is in his first season as a head coach, he has been on the Saint Francis bench for 12 years before his elevation to the top spot. That was on display during his postgame interview when he compared Paris Papadatos' buzzer beater to Keith Braxton and Randall Gaskins, Jr.
• Gaskins hit a buzzer-beater runner against St. Francis Brooklyn for an 81-80 win on January 11, 2020.
• Braxton hit an improbable game-winning 3-pointer to give the Red Flash a 71-70 win against Wagner in the NEC Semifinals on March 4, 2017. That would be the first of four NEC Championship Game appearances for Saint Francis, and they finally broke through to raise the trophy last season in New Britain.
• The Frankies begin a season 1-1 after two NEC games for the 20th time in program history. Saint Francis is 11-8 in its previous 19 times it started the league slate 1-1.
• It will be the seventh time the Red Flash will face Wagner with a .500 record after two games, and the Red Flash looks to improve to 2-1 on the year for the seventh time after facing the Seahawks (1985-86, 1986-87, 1993-94, 1997-98, 2000-01, 2019-20). In the eight times the Loretto program lost the third game, Monmouth was the opponent that dropped the team under .500 the most, four times.

AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Improve NEC record to 2-1
• Be the team's first winning streak since the six-game streak that led to the 2025 NEC Championship
• Make Luke McConnell the first head coach to win his first NEC road contest in program history
• Be the second straight win against Wagner
• Be the first win at the Spiro Athletic Center since 2022-23
• Be the first road win of the season
• Be the seventh time the Red Flash beats Wagner to improve to 2-1

 

ABOUT THE SEAHAWKS
• Wagner comes into the contest 6-7 overall and 1-1 in NEC play after falling 69-60 to Stonehill on Sunday.
• The Seahawks played a NET 155 non-conference schedule. The team's best win before league play was a 103-101 win at Manhattan (NET 302) on November 26.
• Binael Basil paced the Seahawks against the Skyhawks with 12 points.
• Nick Jones leads Wagner with 14.5 points per game, while Eddie Placer is second with 9.8 points per game. Zavier Fitch paces the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg).
• Dwan McMillan is serving as interim head coach for the Seahawks. 

LAST TIME WE MET
• 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 March 5, 2024. 
• Parker finished with 16 points thanks to his three charity tosses and also hit a half-court shot at the first-half buzzer to give the Red Flash a three-point lead.
• Daemar Kelly posted 13 points and six rebounds, while Juan Cranford, Jr. added 11 points. Valentino Pinedo narrowly had his second straight double-double after finishing with eight points and 11 rebounds.
• Zaire Williams fueled the Seahawks with 16 points, and Ja'Kair Sanchez added 14 points. 

LAST TIME OUT
• Paris Papadatos hit a 3-pointer as time expired to hand Saint Francis a dramatic 85-82 win against FDU on Sunday.
• Skylar Wicks paced the Red Flash with 24 points, while Chris Moncrief (14 points) and Ahmad Harrison (12 points) also found double figures in the victory.
• It was the first dramatic win in the waning seconds of a game since February 6, 2020, at Sacred Heart.

TRENDING UP
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks tied his season-high with 24 points against FDU on January 4. He also had 24 points at Lehigh on November  18. The redshirt senior is averaging 18.8 points per game after scoring 20 points in a game, including four games with at least 18 points. He has posted back-to-back 22-point games in his last two games at Temple on December 14 and at Florida three days later. Wicks has grabbed at least six rebounds in each of his last three tilts and 10 times this season, with three games with six boards, two games with seven, two with eight, one with nine, and two 10+ carom games. Also against the Knights, Wicks had three assists to mark the eighth time this season he has dished out at least three dimes in a game.
• Head coach Luke McConnell said getting Chris Moncrief to come back this season was an important piece because he helps the offense run as a facilitator. Moncrief played the first two games of the year, was injured, came back after missing six games, played two more before another injury sidelined him for two more games, but came back against FDU to remind Red Flash fans of what he did in the last 11 games last season to help them to a championship. Moncrief reached double figures for the first time this season with 14 points against the Knights, and the Red Flash won and scored a season-high 85 points. Moncrief is averaging 12.1 points per game in his last eight NEC regular-season games, dating back to last year. The Red Flash is 6-2 in those games, and the team has won the last four in that stretch. NOTE: He played eight minutes off the bench against Le Moyne on January 2.
• Senior Ahmad Harrison returned to the starting lineup against the Knights and posted 12 points and six assists, which matched his career high for helpers and marked the first time at the Division I level he has reached that total. He also had six assists against Franciscan on November 29. The senior has posted double figures in two of his last three games and is averaging 10.7 points per game in that stretch.
• Two days shy of his birthday, freshman Paris Papadatos hit the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer against FDU. It also marked the first time his family had seen him play in almost 1.5 years. The fame of hitting a buzzer-beater did not help Randall Gaskins, Jr., after he hit the winner against St. Francis Brooklyn in 2020, or Keith Braxton against Wagner in 2017, after both players were held to single digits in their next game. Papadotos, who had the No. 9 play on SportsCenter Top-10, finished the game against the Knights with nine points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. After not recording a steal in his first six games, he has three thefts in his last two games and dished out multiple assists for the second time in his career. The nine points marked the fourth time this season he has registered nine or more points, including two 15+ point games. 
• McConnell won his first Division I game against an NEC opponent to become the second head coach in team history to reach the milestone against a league opponent. McConnell's mentor and predecessor, Rob Krimmel, won his first game as a head coach against CCSU in his NEC opener on January 3, 2013.

LEAGUE LEADERS
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks ranks second in the NEC in scoring (18.7 ppg.), second in defensive rebounds (5.69 rpg.), third in minutes played (33.23), fourth in rebounding (7.2 rpg.), fourth in 3-pointers made (2.31), seventh in steals (1.46 spg.), eighth in free throw percentage (76.1), 10th in assists (2.73).
• In NCAA Division I, Wicks ranks 57th in scoring and 64th in defensive rebounds, 
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell is fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.38), seventh in assists (3.14 apg.), 10th in steals (1.36 spg.), 10th in minutes played (31.00 mpg.), and 17th in scoring (11.5 ppg.).
• Saint Francis ranks fourth in steals (7.60), fifth in free throw percentage (70.3), fifth in assists (13.73), fifth in offensive rebounds (10.73), fifth in defensive rebound percentage (0.693), and fifth in 3-pointers made (7.73).

ON THE ROAD 
• Saint Francis is 0-9 away from Loretto (0-7 away and 0-2 at a neutral site).
• The Red Flash is averaging 63.3 points per game and allowing 92.8 points per game, thanks to playing the NET 70 most difficult schedule in Division I.
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks is averaging 19.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He has posted double figures in all nine road games, with five of his six 20-point performances. He is coming off of back-to-back 20-point performances at Temple (December 14) and Florida (December 17) on the road.
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell is also averaging double figures with 10.2 points per game. He has six 10+ point games on the road and is averaging 12.0 points per game in his last two road games. Russell has scored 15 points twice on the road.
• Redshirt junior Gestin Liberis, sophomore Victor Payne, and freshman Paris Papadatos also have one double-figure point game on the road.
• The Red Flash finished 2-6 in NEC play last season on the road, but did win its last road game of the regular season and two games in the postseason, so it comes in with a three-game road winning streak against NEC opponents dating back to last year. 
• Saint Francis spent 21 of its first 47 days of the season on the road. Aided by the Christmas and New Year holidays, the Red Flash did not get on a bus or a plane for 18 days, its longest stretch not on the road this season. 

ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 4-12 overall, 1-10 on the road, and 3-7 in NEC play on this date. The Red Flash has lost the last six games on this date, including five on the road.
• The Frankies recorded the biggest upset in program history, beating the second-ranked team in the country, Duquesne, in 1955 for their first of two wins against ranked opponents in program history. Maurice Stokes led the way with 24 points. Frank Puschauver (19 points) and Jim McClellan (16 points), Bob Watro (13 points) all reached double figures for Saint Francis. The game was also the first time head coach Dr. Skip Hughes was on the sideline this season after dealing with a stomach ailment since November. Hughes is quoted as saying, "In the last two games, we've outscored them (the Dukes) in three of the four halves. That victory was long overdue."
• The last Saint Francis win on this date was a 64-61 win against Wagner at DeGol Arena in 1998. Eric Taylor paced the Red Flash with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Sam Sutton (13 points), Sotiris Angelou (12 points), and Walt DeVan (10 points) also found double figures. 
FUN FACTS...
• This will be the third time Saint Francis has played Wagner on this date. The series is tied at 1 on this date. The Red Flash have also played Duquesne three times and FDU three times on this date. Along with the wins against Duquesne and Wagner, the other two victories on this date were against FDU.