Saint Francis University (4-12, 2-1 NEC) at LIU (9-7, 3-0 NEC)
Date | Time	Thursday, January 10, 2026 | 4 p.m.
Location	Brooklyn, N.Y. | Steinberg Wellness Centerr
Television	NEC Front Row (Phil Constantino (pxp)
Live Stats	Sidearm
Printable Notes	Saint Francis | LIU
Stats	Saint Francis | LIU | 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.	6.4	1.4	42.3	Scored 15 points in NEC Semifinals at LIU last year
G	F	Skylar Wicks	6-6	190	R-Sr.	17.8	7.4.5	39.5	Career-high seven assists at Wagner
G	15	Victor Payne	6-4	190	So.	5.8	3.5	39.2	NEC career-high 11 points against Le Moyne
F	21	Gestin Liberis	6-9	225	R-Jr.	4.7	4.4	51.0	Great defensive stand to power win at Wagner
G	55	Ahmad Harrison	6-1	190	Sr.	7.8	1.7	41.5	Team is 4-5 with Harrison starting
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.	2.8	1.4	25.9	Had five points against FDU
G/F	4	Ralph Martino, Jr.	6-6	180	So.	6.4	2.5	52.8	10 points at Wagner
G	7	Paris Papadatos	6-4	185	Fr.	7.3	1.6	42.4	Buzzer beater vs FDU was No. 9 on #SCTop10
F	20	Cam Tweedy	6-6	240	R-Sr.	4.8	2.9	56.9	Has four rebounds in six games this season

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

FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• The last time Saint Francis was at the Steinberg Wellness Center, it was coming off a three-point win in Loretto against Wagner in the 2025 NEC Quarterfinals.
• 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.
• The Red Flash returns to Brooklyn in the 2025-26 regular season after a win against the Seahawks, this time a 71-69 win in Staten Island, but the Saint Francis footprint on the 2025 NEC Championship continues at LIU and will conclude at home this time with CCSU one week from Saturday when the team returns home to start a three-game homestand. The Frankies defeated both the Sharks and Blue Devils on the way to the 2025 title.
• The matchup will be the 92nd meeting between the two teams dating back to the 1963-64 season, with the Sharks holding a slim 46-45 edge in the all-time series.
• LIU leads the series 29-13 in Brooklyn with a 15-5 record at the Wellness Center and a 14-8 record at the old historic Paramount Theatre.
• It marks the second-straight season the two teams will clash, with the Sharks being the only undefeated team left in the NEC. Last year, LIU won its first six league games to become the fifth NEC team to start the circuit 6-0, including the 1990-91 Red Flash team that won the NEC Championship 35 years ago. Saint Francis will honor the 1991 NEC Championship team and retire the jersey numbers of Joe Anderson and Mike Iuzzolino, two of the great players in team history, both of whom were key members of that title run.
• The Sharks won the first meeting with the Flash last season in Brooklyn to extend the streak to five wins, but the return trip to Loretto found Saint Francis ending the run with a 74-64 win on the night Saint Francis had the authors of the Maurice Stokes children's book in attendance on January 24, 2025.
• Prior to the Frankies' win in the NEC Semifinals, the Sharks had won the previous two games in Brooklyn. This year, the two teams will not play on consecutive weekends, with the rematch in Loretto not coming until February 19, after 11 games.
• Saint Francis comes into the game with a 2-1 NEC record for the 17th time. The Red Flash has improved to 3-1 11 times, most recently in 2019-20.
• There was an interesting anomaly where Saint Francis played Wagner seven times when it was 1-1 in NEC play and won all seven times. It will be the third time the Red Flash has been 2-1 and face LIU, and the second time in Brooklyn. Saint Francis improved to 3-1 in 2001-02 and 2015-16, but the Sharks dropped the Frankies to 2-2 in 2009-10.
• It will be the fourth-straight time the Red Flash will play a team from Brooklyn coming into the game with a 2-1 record in league play, but the last three times were against St. Francis Brooklyn. The team improved from 2-1 to 3-1 in five of the seven times it faced a Brooklyn team in this scenario.
• Head coach Luke McConnell became the first head coach in Saint Francis history to win two of his first three NEC games, and the first to win his inaugural league road tilt.

AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Improve NEC record to 3-1
• Be the team's first three-game regular season winning streak since the last three games last season
• Make Luke McConnell the first head coach to win two of his first three conference games in team history
• Be the third straight against LIU
• Be the first win at the Wellness Center in regular season  since 2022-23
• Be the first regular season NEC road winning streak since defeating St. Francis Brooklyn and LIU in 2022-23
 

ABOUT THE SHARKS
• Malachi Davis scored with 11 seconds left to propel LIU past Mercyhurst 60-58 on Thursday to help the Sharks improve to 9-7 on the year and 3-0 in NEC play. 
• The Sharks played a NET 128 non-conference strength of schedule and posted a quadrant three 75-61 win against Missouri State (NET 206) on November 24.
• Davis paced the Sharks with 18 points and six assists against te Lakers, while Jomo Goings (15 points), Greg Gordon (13 points), and Jamal Fuller (11 points) also posted double figures. 
• Davis leads the team with 16.1 points per game. Fuller is second in scoring (15.9 ppg.) and is the top rebounder with 5.9 rebounds per game. Gordon is third on the squad with 14.4 points per game.

LAST TIME WE MET
• Juan Cranford, Jr. drained three free throws with less than two seconds left to propel Saint Francis past LIU 71-68 in the NEC Tournament Semifinals on March 8, 2025. 
• Cranford finished his second career 20-point performance, while Parker scored 13 points. Chris Moncrief added 15 points, and Valentino Pinedo chipped in 10 points.
• Jamal Fuller led the Sharks with 21 points. Malachi Davis added 16 points and Blake Lander had 13 points.
• Saint Francis rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the second half, but then had to rally again in the final three minutes.

LAST TIME OUT
• The way Saint Francis has won its last five games, dating back to last season's postseason, of course, it would be a dramatic finish. Ralph Martino, Jr. gave the Red Flash the lead for good on two free throws with 91 seconds left, and then Saint Francis had to have one more defensive stand to hold on to a 71-69 win at Wagner on Thursday. 
•  Ahmad Harrison paced the Red Flash with 16 points, while Chris Moncrief added 15 points and Martino had 10 points off the bench. 
•  After a Seahawks basket and a Saint Francis missed shot, Wagner had the ball with four seconds left with a chance to tie or even win the game. Nick Jones drove down the court and right down the center of the lane. Gestin Liberis stood his ground, and Jones' shot attempt did not fall. Martino came down with the rebound as time expired to secure the second straight Red Flash win.
• The Red Flash has won its last five Division I games by three points or less. After winning its last four by three points, Thursday was the first time it was by a two-point margin.

TRENDING UP
• Senior Ahmad Harrison rejoined the starting lineup against FDU and is averaging 14.0 points and 4.0 assists per game in those two wins. The senior had 16 points against Wagner on January 8, which was his second-most points in a Saint Francis uniform, to his 17-point performance against Belmont on November 24. In the game against FDU on January 2, Harrison tied his career high with six assists, the most against a Division I opponent. He has double figures in three of his last four games and is averaging 12.0 points per game in that stretch. Saint Francis is 4-5 when Harrison starts a game.
• It may be no coincidence that the Red Flash has won its last two games and senior Chris Moncrief has scored double figures in both contests and is averaging 14.5 points per game in two games. He is shooting 52.9 percent from the floor (9-for-17) in the two games after hitting at a 35.0 percent (7-for-20) in his first five games. Moncrief has scored 10+ points in seven of the last nine NEC contests and is averaging 12.4 points per game in that stretch. The Red Flash is 7-2 in that span, and is 10-2 against NEC opponents in the last 12 games if you count the 2025 NEC Tournament.
• Sophomore Ralph Martino, Jr. has posted three 10+ point games since the start of December and twice in his last four games. The sophomore is averaging 8.3 points per game in his last four tilts, thanks to 11 points against Robert Morris on December 20 and his first 10-point game away from Loretto against Wagner. He added a career-high three steals and a career-high tying four assists against the Seahawks. He is 10-for-12 from the free-throw line in his last three games.
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks did not reach double figures for the second time in three games, but the redshirt senior helped out the team in other ways by leading the team with nine rebounds and a career-high seven assists after posting two games with six dimes in his career. Wicks is shooting 16.7 percent from the floor (5-for-30) in the opening game of an NEC weekend. He rebounded to post a season-high tying 24 points against FDU last weekend. The redshirt senior has shot under 30.0 percent in a game three times this season, and the previous two times he scored 24 points, as he did against Lehigh on November 18, and against FDU. In addition, Wicks has scored 15 points or fewer four times this year and is averaging 23.3 points per game in the next game. Back to other parts of the game, Wicks has grabbed four times and handed out four or more assists four times in his first season in Loretto.
• With a win, Saint Francis will be 3-1 for the 11th time and the first time since 2019-20. With a loss, the Red Flash will be 2-2 after four league games for the 13th time and the first time since 2018-19. The 2022-23 Red Flash started the NEC slate 4-0.

LEAGUE LEADERS
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks ranks second in scoring (17.8 ppg.), fourth in rebounding (7.4 rpg.), seventh in 3-pointers made (2.14 pg.), eighth in assists (2.86 apg.), eighth in steals (1.36 spg.), and 10th in free throw percentage (76.1).
• In NCAA Division I, Wicks ranks 57th in scoring and 64th in defensive rebounds prior to the game at Wagner on Thursday. 
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell ranks 18th in scoring (11.5 ppg.), fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.38), seventh in assists (3.14 apg.),  eighth in steals (1.36 spg.), and 10th in minutes played (31.00 mpg.)
• Senior Ahmad Harrison ranks 10th in steals (1.31 spg.).
• Saint Francis ranks fourth in free throw percentage (71.4), fourth in steals (7.63 spg), fifth in assists (13.81 apg), fifth in turnover margin (-0.81), and fifth in 3-pointers made (7.69 pg).

ON THE ROAD 
• Saint Francis is 1-9 away from Loretto (1-7 away and 0-2 at a neutral site).
• The Red Flash is averaging 64.1 points per game and allowing 90.4 points per game, thanks to playing the NET 70 most difficult schedule in Division I in non-conference play.
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks is averaging 18.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He has posted double figures in nine of the  10 road games, with five of his six 20-point performances. He had back-to-back 20-point performances at Temple (December 14) and Florida (December 17) on the road to wrap up non-conference play.
• 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.
• Seniors Ahmad Harrison and Chris Moncrief and sophomore Ralph Martino, Jr. each had their first 10+ point game on the road against Wagner on January 8, while 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. 

ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 15-9 on this date, including 7-8 on the road and 9-6 in NEC play.
• John McLean paced the Frankies with 28 points, while former Saint Francis head coach Rob Krimmel registered 17 points in a 73-58 win against LIU in 2000.
• Darhan Luckey scored 25 points to help Saint Francis overcome a 33-25 halftime deficit for a 78-72 win against Robert Morris in Moon Township in 2005.
• Malik Harmon also had 25 points the next time the Red Flash won on this date in a 77-68 win at Sacred Heart in 2015. Earl Brown added 19 points and 11 rebounds.
• Keith Braxton tallied 16 points and 13 rebounds in a 74-67 win against LIU on this date in 2019, the last time the squad played on this date. Isaiah Blackmon paced Saint Francis with 17 points.
FUN FACTS...
• The Red Flash is 5-0 against Brooklyn teams on this date in Loretto. The Frankies defeated LIU three times (2000, 2002, 2019) and St. Francis Brooklyn twice (1981, 2004). Saint Francis is also 7-0 against the Empire State thanks to a win at Wagner (1987) and a home victory against Marist (1991) on this date.
• The Frankies scored 122 points against New Hampshire on this date in 1971 at the War Memorial, the third most points scored in a game in program history. The Red Flash posted a program-record 132 points against Geneva on February 15, 1969, and 127 points against Geneva on December 13, 1968. The only other time the team scored 120 points in a game was against Franciscan on November 23, 2022.