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| Saint Francis Probable Starters |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| G |
0 |
Chris Moncrief |
6-6 |
190 |
Sr. |
8.9 |
2.6 |
48.4 |
Scored season-high 22 points at Mercyhurst |
| GÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
F |
Skylar Wicks |
6-6 |
190 |
R-Sr. |
18.0 |
6.9 |
40.5 |
Averaging 19.0 ppg in last three road games |
| G |
15 |
Victor Payne |
6-4 |
190 |
So. |
7.0 |
3.6 |
44.2 |
Career-high 23 points against LIU |
| FÂ Â Â Â |
21 |
Gestin Liberis |
6-9 |
225 |
R-Jr. |
6.5 |
4.8 |
51.4 |
Averaging 9.8 ppg in last nine games |
| G |
55 Â Â Â |
Ahmad Harrison |
6-1 |
190 |
Sr. |
8.9 |
2.2 |
38.1 |
10+ points in four of last six |
| Top Players Off the Bench |
| Pos. |
No. |
Name |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Yr. |
PPG |
RPG |
FG% |
Note |
| GÂ |
1 |
KJ Swain, Jr. |
6-1 |
165 |
R-Sr. |
2.0 |
0.8 |
30.0 |
Started and had three points on Senior Day |
| G |
2 |
Zion Russell |
6-2 |
185 |
R-Sr. |
12.5 |
4.0 |
42.1 |
Scored 21 points against Wagner |
| G |
3 |
Brandon Russell |
6-5 |
185 |
Fr. |
2.3 |
1.2 |
24.1 |
Had three assists at Chicago State |
| G/F |
4 |
Ralph Martino, Jr. |
6-6 Â Â |
180 |
So. |
6.7 |
2.4 |
55.4 |
Has not played in last nine tilts |
| G |
7 |
Paris Papadatos |
6-4 |
185 |
Fr. |
4.6 |
1.1 |
39.8 |
Scored 10 points against LIU |
| F |
20 Â Â |
Cam Tweedy |
6-6 |
240 |
R-Sr. |
3.9 |
2.5 |
55.8 |
11 points, 11 rebounds at Chicago State |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS. NEW HAVENÂ Â (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF)Â
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Tuesday's game between Saint Francis and New Haven marks the second meeting in the all-time series, dating back to the first meeting that occurred on January 31 in Loretto.
• This is a makeup game that was postponed on January 24 due to a snowstorm.Â
• It was a different time when the game was postponed. The Red Flash was coming off back-to-back wins against Stonehill (63-61) on January 19 and Chicago State (80-61) on January 23.
• Along with the game in West Haven being postponed, the next game on the schedule, at Chicago State on January 29, was also postponed due to unforeseen circumstances with the Cougars program.
• The team was riding high thanks to that two-game winning streak and was sitting 4-3 in NEC play before the Chargers came into Loretto for the first meeting.Â
• New Haven defeated the Red Flash 81-69, and that started an eight-game losing streak.Â
• During that streak, the Red Flash lost in overtime at Mercyhurst on February 5, lost on a layup at Le Moyne
with 0.6 seconds left two days later, and fell in the makeup at Chicago State 80-75 despite having a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds left on February 9. The Red Flash also had NEC regular season champion LIU on the ropes before falling 91-89 thanks to two free throws with 6.5 seconds left on February 19.
• Before the win against Chicago State, the previous three meetings were all one by three points or less, including buzzer-beating wins against FDU (85-82) on January 4 and the win against the Skyhawks
on Martin Luther King Day. The three-point margin was the signature of the 2025 NEC Tournament run, with all three games decided by exactly three points. The team won six straight NEC games by that margin, counting the three games in the NEC Tournament and the three wins to start the season.
• Saint Francis was 4-5 in the regular season last year in games decided by six points or less and then went 3-1 in the postseason, including that devastating 70-68 loss to Alabama State in the NCAA Play-in Game. In 2025-26, the Red Flash was 3-1 in contests decided by six points or less, but has lost its last four games by that margin.Â
• For the first time since the 2022-23 season, there are two teams in the NEC from the Nutmeg State. CCSU joined the league in 1997, Quinnipiac
joined in 1998 (left in 2013), and Sacred Heart joined in 1999 (left in 2024). Saint Francis only won two games against the state in 2019-20, while it has gone 1-1 10 times, 1-2 four times, 0-2 four times, and 0-3 three times.Â
• The Frankies
have lost eight games in a row for the 14th time in the last 45 years, but this is just the fifth time that the team has lost eight NEC games in a row. The 2012-13 team was the last to lose eight NEC games in a row, while the 1998-99 and 2001-02 teams both lost nine in a row, and the 2006-07 Flash dropped 11 conference games in a row.
• Saint Francis heads to Stonehill
on Thursday before ending the regular season at CCSU
on Saturday. The Red Flash ends the season in Connecticut for the sixth time (2001-02, 2005-06, 2011-12, 2018-19, and 2021-22), and finished in the northeast for the seventh time after traveling to Bryant in 2012-13. In 2018-19 and 2021-22, Saint Francis advanced to the NEC Tournament, but did not in the other four years it ended the regular season in the New England area.
AN SFU WIN WOULD...
• Be the first win against New Haven and the 24th different team in the NEC that the Red Flash has a win against
• Be the second win on the road this season
• Be the first regular season win in the Nutmeg State since defeating CCSU 73-64 on February 24, 2022Â
• Be the first win in the state since defeating CCSU in the NEC Championship Game 46-43 on March 11, 2025
• End an eight-game losing streak, its longest since an eight-game losing streak in 2012-13
ABOUT THE CHARGERS
• New Haven comes into the contest 13-15 overall and 8-7 in NEC play after defeating FDU 84-77 on Saturday.
• Jabri Fitzpatrick was named the NEC Player of the Week after scoring 32 points against the Knights. Khan Briggs (18 points), Andre Pasha (16 points), and Najimi George (11 points) also registered double figures against FDU.
• Fitzpatrick fuels the Chargers with 14.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, along with 71 assists and 50 steals. George (11.2 ppg) and Pasha (10.6 ppg) are also averaging double digits in points.
LAST TIME WE MET
• New Haven defeated Saint Francis 81-69 on January 31 at DeGol Arena.
• Ahmad Harrison led the Red Flash with 16 points. Zion Russell (15 points) and Skylar Wicks (12 points) also reached double digits.
• Kheni Briggs paced the Chargers with a career-high 29 points. Jabri Fitzpatrick (19 points), Andre Pasha (14 points), and Najimi George (10 points) also scored double figures.
LAST TIME OUT
• Saint Francis dropped a 65-56 decision against Wagner at DeGol Arena on Saturday.
• Zion Russell paced the Red Flash with 21 points.
• Before the game, Saint Francis honored its senior class of Russell, Ahmad Harrison, Gestin Liberis, Chris Moncrief, KJ Swain, Jr., Cam Tweedy, and Skylar Wicks. Graduate student John McKeown was also recognized after his work with the program for the last two years.
TRENDING UP
• Not often do you have to finish the way you started, but in a small scale of things, that is what redshirt senior Zion Russell accomplished against Wagner on February 21. Russell scored 21 points against the Seahawks to close his time at DeGol Arena with a 20-point performance. He registered a career-high 23 points against Mount St. Mary's in his DeGol Arena debut on November 11. The redshirt senior has scored double figures in 18 of the 25 games he has played and has not been held to single digits in points in consecutive games, and he has posted at least nine points in 14 of his last 15 tilts. He has posted 20 points in two of his last five games with a career-high of 23 points at Chicago State on February 9. Russell is averaging 13.8 points per game in that span.Â
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks had his consecutive 10+ point streak stopped at 10 games, after having an 11-game stretch to start his Red Flash career. He averaged 19.3 points per game in those 10 games run with five 20+ games and a career-high 33 points against Mercyhurst on February 14. Wicks averaged 19.3 points per game in his first 11 tilts. The previous two times Wicks posted 20 points in the game after he was held to single digits.
• Redshirt junior Gestin Liberis has scored at least eight points in eight of his last nine games with three 10+ point games, including a career-high 17 points at Chicago State. He is averaging 9.8 points per game in this stretch.Â
• After scoring in a Red Flash's best four-straight games in double figures, Ahmad Harrison has been held to single digits in back-to-back games for the first time since before he joined the starting lineup against FDU on January 4. Harrison is averaging 9.2 points per game over his last six games, with the number of points scored matching his uniform number, 55.
• Senior Chris Moncrief has posted double figures in two of his last three road games, including a season-high 22 points at Mercyhurst. The senior is averaging 14.3 points per game.
• Last year, the Red Flash lost four of six going into its last three regular-season games. Saint Francis won the final three regular-season games, all in overtime, to start the magical run to its first NEC title in 34 years. This is the final three games of the regular season in 2025-26, but all three will be on the road in the northeast, compared to one road game and two games at DeGol Arena last year. A three-game winning streak this year would get the Frankies into the postseason again.
LEAGUE LEADERS
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks ranks second in scoring (18.0 ppg), fourth in defensive rebounds (5.32 rpg), fourth in 3-point percentage (39.6), fourth in 3-pointers made (2.36 pg), fifth in minutes played (33.48 mpg), fifth in rebounding (6.9 rpg), and seventh in steals (1.52 spg). The redshirt senior fuels the NEC in 3-pointers made (2.43pg).
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell ranks fifth in steals (1.72 spg), eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3), eighth in assists (2.92 apg), and 16th in scoring (12.5 ppg). Russell leads in steals (2.25 spg) and 3-point field goal percentage (48.1) in league games.
• Senior Ahmad Harrison is ninth in steals (1.32 spg).Â
• Sophomore Victor Payne ranks fifth in 3-point percentage (38.6), and second in 3-point field goal percentage in NEC play (46.2). Redshirt junior Gestin Liberis is sixth in offensive rebounds (2.21 rpg), and second in the category in league games (2.67 rpg).
• Saint Francis ranks second in NEC in 3-pointers made (8.10 pg), third in steals (7.79 spg), third in turnover margin (+0.21), fourth in assists (13.79 apg), fifth in scoring offense (71,5 ppg), fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (34.6), fifth in assist to turnover ratio (1.06), and fifth in offensive rebounds (10.57 rpg). In NEC games, the Red Flash leads the league in scoring (74.1 ppg), 3-point field goal percentage (37.2), and 3-pointers made (8.60 pg), and is second in assists (14.00), and steals (7.73spg).
ON THE ROAD
• Saint Francis id 1-14 on the road (1-12 on the road and 0-2 at a neutral site) and 1-5 in NEC play. The Red Flash's lone win was a 71-69 decision at Wagner on January 8., its first road league game of the season.
• The Red Flash is averaging 67.4 points per game, while allowing 86.7 points per game.Â
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks is averaging 18.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while redshirt senior Zion Russell is averaging 11.9 points per game away from DeGol Arena.
• Wicks has posted double figures in 13 of the 14 games he has played, with seven 20-point games and a double-double. He registered a road high of 27 points at Le Moyne on February 5. It was his career-high until he registered 33 points against Mercyhurst at home on February 14.
• Russell has nine 10+ point games, including five in the last six games he has played. He is averaging 14.5 points per game in that stretch, including tying his career-high with 23 points at Chicago State on February 9.
• Senior Ahmad Harrison (six games), sophomore Victor Payne (four games), senior Chris Moncrief (three games), redshirt junior Gestin Liberis (three games), senior Cam Tweedy (two games), sophomore Ralph Martino (two games), and freshman Paris Papadatos (one game) also have 10+ point games this season.
• Along with Russell and Wicks, Moncrief has a 20-point performance with 22 points at Mercyhurst on February 5. Tweedy is the only other player besides Wicks to have a road double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds at Chicago State.
• Saint Francis has one win in league play on the road. Seven teams have won only one NEC game away from Loretto (1981-82, 1982-83, 1991-92, 1998-99, 2005-06, 2011-12, 2020-21). The Red Flash did not win a conference game twice (2008-09, 2023-24).
POSTSEASON CHASE
• Saint Francis needs to win at least one, if not two, or possibly all three of the final three games to really have a fighting chance to make the postseason, and Chicago State would have to lose at least one, if not two, games, who finish at LIU (Thursday) and Wagner (Saturday). The Cougars are 5-11, while the Red Flash is 4-11 heading into Tuesday's game.
• Why two wins?: Chicago State is one game ahead of Saint Francis, but if the Red Flash finish the season tied with the Cougars, they have the tiebreaker at the moment. The two teams split the season series, but Chicago State has a better win, two actually, thanks to a win against CCSU and at Mercyhurst, so two wins and two Chicago State losses there would not be a tiebreaker.Â
• Could one win get Saint Francis in? Maybe, with a win against CCSU on Saturday, the Frankies keep the conversation going if the Cougars lose out. The spot would then be determined by where Mercyhurst (Chicago State's best win) and FDU (Saint Francis' best win) finish in the standings. If FDU is higher than Mercyhurst, the Red Flash would be in.Â
• What if Chicago State wins one? If that victory is against LIU, then Saint Francis has to win its final three because the Cougars would have the ultimate tiebreaker with their win against the Sharks. If the Cougars win at Wagner, two wins would possibly get the Frankies in if one of those wins is CCSU, because then it would come down to again how finishes higher, Mercyhurst or FDU. If the Red Flash beats New Haven and Stonehill, and Chicago State only beats Wagner, the season is over because the Cougars' win against CCSU trumps the Saint Francis win against FDU, no matter where Mercyhurst finishes.Â
• Saint Francis can finish as high as the No. 6 seed if it wins out and Stonehill loses out, and Wagner only wins one. This is the only time when, if Red Flash were in a tiebreaker, it would be favorable, because it would have swept the Skyhawks, and being in a tiebreaker with Wagner and/or Chicago State would not matter. NOTE: If Wagner wins two and Stonehill loses two, the Red Flash would be the No. 7 seed if it wins its final three games.Â
• Saint Francis is the defending NEC Tournament Champion and looks to avoid joining 2006-07 Monmouth and 2013-14 LIU in teams that won the tournament the previous season and did not make the postseason. NOTE: Marist (1987-88) and Robert Morris (1990-91) did not participate in the NEC Tournament the year after it won because both teams were deemed ineligible. Robert Morris also won the 2020 NEC Tournament title and did not appear in the next season's tournament because it joined the Horizon League. FUN FACT: The 2006 Monmouth team won the NEC Tournament by a score of 49-48, which was the lowest tournament score before last year's 46-43 win for the Red Flash against CCSU.
ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 10-9 overall, 3-6 on the road, and 8-6 in NEC play on this date. The Red Flash will play a team from Connecticut for the fourth time and the second time playing in the Nutmeg State after defeating CCSU 79-63 in 2022. It is the second straight time playing in the Northeast after playing at Stonehill in 2024.
• Maxwell Land scored a career-high 20 points to lead Saint Francis past CCSU in New Britain on this date in 2022. Josh Cohen (19 points), Mark Flagg (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Brad McCabe (13 points) also reached double figures.
• Reiner Mougnol (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Tom Fox (13 points, 10 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles in a 63-58 win at the Paramount Theatre against LIU on this date in 2000.Â
FUN FACTS...
• Saint Francis had won five straight on this date before the loss at Stonehill in 2024.Â
