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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. |
9.1 |
2.6 |
48.4 |
Season-high 22 points at Mercyhurst/span> |
| GÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
F |
Skylar Wicks |
6-6 |
190 |
R-Sr. |
17.8 |
7.2 |
40.2 |
Scored season-high 27 points at Le Moyne |
| G |
15 |
Victor Payne |
6-4 |
190 |
So. |
7.1 |
3.3 |
45.2 |
Tied season-high with 15 points at Le Moyne |
| FÂ Â Â Â |
21 |
Gestin Liberis |
6-9 |
225 |
R-Jr. |
5.4 |
4.6 |
50.6 |
Nine points in three of last four |
| G |
55 Â Â Â |
Ahmad Harrison |
6-1 |
190 |
Sr. |
9.1 |
2.6 |
39.3 |
Had 11 points at Le Moyne |
| 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. |
2.1 |
0.8 |
28.6 |
Has not played since Florida> |
| G |
2 |
Zion Russell |
6-2 |
185 |
R-Sr. |
12.2 |
4.2 |
41.2 |
Posted 15 points at Le Moyne |
| G |
3 |
Brandon Russell |
6-5 |
185 |
Fr. |
2.6 |
1.2 |
25.7 |
Led team in assists against LIU |
| G/F |
4 |
Ralph Martino, Jr. |
6-6 Â Â |
180 |
So. |
6.7 |
2.4 |
55.4 |
Has not played in last four games |
| G |
7 |
Paris Papadatos |
6-4 |
185 |
Fr. |
5.0 |
1.1 |
39.1 |
Buzzer beater vs FDU was No. 9 on #SCTop10 |
| F |
20 Â Â |
Cam Tweedy |
6-6 |
240 |
R-Sr. |
3.7 |
2.3 |
53.6 |
Bucket sent game to OT at Mercyhurst |
SELECT GAME NOTES VS. CHICAGO STATEÂ (FULLÂ GAME NOTES PDF)Â
FRANKIES TIDBITS IN A FLASH
• Monday's game between Saint Francis and Chicago State marks the fourth meeting in the all-time series dating back to last year.
• The Red Flash are 3-0 against the Cougars after defeating Chicago State on January 23. The two teams were supposed to play on January 29 in the Windy City, but the Cougars were unable to play, and the game was rescheduled to February 9.
• Saint Francis was riding high, winning two games in a row with its win against Chicago State in Loretto before the weather and the Cougars postponement halted the momentum. Since that date, the Red Flash has lost its last three, with one game this weekend going into overtime, and Saturday's tilt the Frankies falling on a layup with 0.6 seconds left. It was the first time Saint Francis had lost three NEC games in a row since the final five regular-season games of the 2023-24 season. Prior to the current three-game losing streak, the team had not had more than a two-game losing streak three times last year. This will be the first time Saint Francis has played Chicago State after a loss. Both times the Red Flash played Chicago State in 2024-25, the Frankies won the game before both times.
• The Cougars, on the other hand, have won two of their last three tilts after the game was postponed on January 29.
• Saint Francis will play on a Monday for the fourth time this season. The first two were in non-conference play against Power 5 teams at Oklahoma to open the season on November 9 and at Xavier on December 1. The last time was Martin Luther King Day when freshman
Paris Papadatos hit the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to defeat Stonehill 63-61 on January 19.
• This four-game road trip in league play marks the 11th time the Loretto program will play four straight conference games on the road, joining the 1988-89, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2004-05, 2006-07, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2024-25 teams. It marks the second straight year a trip to Chicago has been part of a four-game road trip. Last year, the Red Flash went 2-2 on the four-game road trip for the first time in team history.
•The Frankies will be traveling to the state of Illinois for the sixth time in program history. It will also be the team's fifth trip to the Windy City after playing Illinois-Chicago in 1983-84, 1999-00, and 2017-18, and Chicago State last year. With its 81-69 win against the Cougars on February 8, 2025, at the Jones Convocation Center, the Red Flash earned its first win in the state of Illinois.
• Saint Francis returns to action to complete the four-game road trip at FDU on Thursday.
• When Saint Francis returns to Loretto on February 14, it will be the celebration of the 35th Anniversary of the 1991 NEC Championship team and the jersey retirement of Joe Anderson and Mike Iuzzolino, two of the players who led the Red Flash in that title run. The celebration will be one day after the 35th Anniversary of Iuzzolino scoring 41 points against Robert Morris.Â
AN SFU WIN WOULD
• Be the team's second-straIght win in Chicago
• Be the first win on the four-game road trip
• End a three-game losing streak
• Be the second win on the road this season
• Be the first win in the month of February
• Be the first road win on this date since a 68-63 win against Monmouth in 1998, and improve to 10-10 on this date
• Improve to 4-0 against Chicago State
• Be the 1,194th win in NCAA team history
ABOUT THE COUGARS
• Chicago State comes into the contest 4-20 overall and 2-9 in NEC play after defeating New Haven 63-57 on Saturday.
• Marcus Tankersley paced the Cougars with 19 points. Doyel Cockrill III (12 points), CJ Ray (10 points), and Joseph Owens (10 points) also registered double figures against the Chargers.
• Ray, who scored 37 points against Mercyhurst on January 31, leads the team with 13.7 points per game, while Tankersley (13.5 mpg) and Cockrill (12.5 ppg) are averaging 10+ points a game.Â
LAST TIME WE MET
• Skylar Wicks and Chris Moncrief combined for 38 points to lift Saint Francis past Chicago State 81-60 on January 23, at DeGol Arena.
• Wicks finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds to register third double-double of 2025-26, while Moncrief had a then season-high 18 points before he had 22 points at Mercyhurst on February 5.Â
• Zion Russell registered his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Victor Payne chipped in 10 points.
• The Red Flash shot 70 percent in the first half to register over 70 percent in 20 minutes of play for the first time since December 31, 2017, at Bryant in the second half.
• CJ Ray powered the Cougars with 21 points (19 points in the first half). Doyel Cockrill III added 13 points, and Chauncey Gibson chipped in 10 points.
LAST TIME OUT
• Le Moyne scored a layup with 0.6 seconds left to upend Saint Francis 86-84 on February 7.
• Skylar Wicks paced the Red Flash with a season-high 27 points.Â
• Victor Payne tied his career high with 15 points, while Zion Russell (15 points) and Ahmad Harrison (11 points) also reached double figures against the Dolphins.
• Saint Francis went on a 9-2 run in a 17-second span to tie the game with 3.8 seconds left. Harrison started the surge with a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left. After Le Moyne made two free throws, Wicks made two free throws, and then Harrison caused a jump ball with the arrow pointing toward the Red Flash to give the ball back. Wicks then hit one from way downtown with 3.8 seconds left to tie the game at 84. The Dolphins then raced down the court and scored a layup with 0.6 seconds left.
TRENDING UP
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks registered the third-highest point total of his career with his 27 points against Le Moyne on February 7. It was the most points he has scored in a Red Flash uniform and the sixth time in his career that he has scored more than 25 points in his career. The previous five times occurred with Wicks playing at Incarnate Word in 2023-24, including a career-high 29 points against Schreiner on November 14. The game after Wicks scores over 25 points, he is averaging 14.2 points per game with a 20-point performance and three games with 15 points. The redshirt senior is averaging 17.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in his last seven tilts, with four games with at least 19 points.Â
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell has reached double figures in four-straight games and is averaging 15.0 points per game in that run. Russell has posted at least nine points in the seven NEC games he has played. Dating back to December 1, the redshirt senior has 11 10+ point games in 13 contests and is averaging 12.6 points per game in that span. With a 10+ point game at Chicago State, he would tie a career high with five consecutive games in double figures, which he posted during his last 13 tilts.
• Sophomore Victor Payne reached 15 points for the third time in his career after he posted the number twice in back-to-back games at the end of November. The sophomore has registered consecutive games with at least 10 points for the third time this season. He is looking to extend it to a career-high three games in Chicago. Payne is averaging 14.5 points per game over his last two contests, has posted his top two scoring totals in NEC play in this stretch, and has posted double figures in six of 10 league games.Â
• Similar to Payne, senior Ahmad Harrison has double figures in six of the 10 NEC games. Harrison recorded two contests with 16 points and two games with 17 points in league play. The 17 points mark a season-high for Harrison, and he looks to register back-to-back 10+ point games for the fourth time this year and the third time in circuit play.
• Redshirt junior Gestin Liberis has posted exactly nine points in three of the last four games, and has an NEC career-high 14 points against CCSU on January 17 in his last six games. He also has five rebounds four times in those six contests.
• Since scoring 18 points against Chicago State on January 23, senior Chris Moncrief is averaging 11.7 points per game in his last three games. The senior is averaging 15.5 points per game in a Red Flash win in NEC play.
LEAGUE LEADERS
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks ranks second in scoring (17.8 ppg), third in defensive rebounds (5.62 rpg), fourth in rebounding (7.2 rpg), fourth in 3-pointers made (2.33 pg), sixth in minutes played (32.95 mpg), and sixth in steals (1.57 spg). The redshirt senior is second in steals (1.60 spg) and 3-pointers made (2.40 pg) in NEC games.
• Wicks was 60th in defensive rebounds in NCAA Division I before play began on Thursday.
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell ranks fifth in steals (1.60 spg), eighth in assists (2.85 apg), and 17th in scoring (12.2 ppg).Â
• Senior Ahmad Harrison is fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (41.1) and eighth in steals (1.43 spg).
• Sophomore Victor Payne ranks fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (40.7), while he fuels the circuit in league games (52.6).
• Saint Francis ranks second in assists (14.17 apg), third in steals (7.87 spg), second in 3-pointers made (8.30 pg), third in 3-point field goal percentage (35.2), third in turnover margin (+0.57), third in assist to turnover ratio (1.11), and fifth in scoring offense (71.5 ppg). In NEC games, the Red Flash leads the league in scoring (75.3 ppg), 3-point field goal percentage (39.8), assists (15.00 apg), steals (7.90 spg), and 3-pointers made (9.40 pg), and is second in turnover margin (+3.00).
ON THE ROAD
• Saint Francis will spend 14 of the 28 days in February on the road and will play seven of its final 10 NEC games, starting with a four-game road trip in eight days that began at Mercyhurst.
• The Red Flash is 1-12 away from Loretto, including 1-10 on the road, 0-2 on a neutral site and on the road, and 1-3 in NEC play. Saint Francis picked up its first road win of the season at Wagner on January 8. The squad is averaging 67.5 points per game on the road and allowing 88.8 points per game, compared to scoring 76.7 points per game and allowing 72.2 points per game at home.
• Saint Francis spent 22 of the first 46 days of the season on the road, but has only been on the road for four of the 43 days since returning from Florida on December 18.
• Redshirt senior Skylar Wicks powers the team with 19.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game on the road. Wicks has registered double figures in 12 of the 13 road games this season, including seven 20-point performances and a double-double. The redshirt senior had a season-high and the third-highest total of his career at Le Moyne on February 7. He is averaging 22.3 points per game in his last three road games, with all three games over 19 points.
• Redshirt senior Zion Russell is also averaging double figures away from Loretto with 11.2 points per game. Russell has eight double-figure point games, including a road high of 16 at Mercyhurst on February 5.
• Senior Ahmad Harrison has four 10+ point games away from DeGol Arena, including a season-high 17 points vs Belmont on November 24. Sophomore Victor Payne also has four 10+ point games on the road, with a career-high 15 points against Troy on November 22 and at Le Moyne. Â
• Senior Chris Moncrief has two 10+ point games away to the Lo', including a season-high 22 points at Mercyhurst.Â
• Sophomore Ralph Martino, Jr. has two 10+ point games in his last two road games, including a career-high 15 points at LIU, while redshirt senior Cam Tweedy, redshirt junior Gestin Liberis, and freshman Paris Papadatos each have one double-figure point game on the road.Â
ON THIS DATE
• Saint Francis is 9-10 overall, 1-4 on the road, and 3-7 in NEC play on this date.
• Eric Taylor tallied 22 points and 13 rebounds to lift Saint Francis past Monmouth on this date in 1998 for the last road win on this date.
• Jamal King had 27 points, including 12 of 13 from the free throw line, to lift Saint Francis past Bryant on this date in 2019 at DeGol Arena. Mark Flagg (15 points), Isaiah Blackmon (14 points), and Keith Braxton also scored double figures against the Bulldogs.
FUN FACTS...
• The Frankies played on this date nine times out of the first 10 times on this date. Saint Francis was 8-2 in those games from 1954 to 1985.
