McCANDLESS, Pa. - La Roche men's basketball hosts conference opponent Franciscan University this Wednesday, February 12th at the Kerr. The Barons handed the Redhawks their only conference loss of the season on January 15th at Franciscan. The Baron's hit the go-ahead bucket with less than 10 seconds on the clock to win, 72-71. Tip-off for Wednesday's game is set for 6:00 p.m.

Coverage

Live Stats | Video

La Roche (OVR: 15-6, AMCC: 15-1)

Last Time Out: The Redhawks bested Penn St. Behrend in double-overtime last Saturday (2/8), 96-92. The win was Head Coach Hermie Carmichael's 100th in AMCC play. Four different Redhawks finished with 15 or more points in Saturday's contest led by Tyler Frederick who picked up his 13th double-double of the season with a game-high 24 points and 13 rebounds. Kennedy Smith contributed 18 points, nine rebounds and a game-high five assists. Darius Lawrence added 16 points, four assists and three rebounds. Austin Hannes posted 15 points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal. In his season debut after missing the Redhawks first twenty games of the season due to an injury suffered over the summer, Senior guard Darrell Barron came up huge in the second overtime period of Saturday's victory in his return. Barron scored all seven of his points in double-OT while shooting a perfect 3 of 3 from the field.

News and Notes

• Now 15-1 in AMCC action, La Roche holds a 1.5 game lead over Pitt Greensburg (14-3) for first place in the conference.
• Including last game, LRU has shot over 50% from the field in seven games this season; they have won all those games.
• La Roche has out-rebounded their last three opponents and have posted at least 40 boards in five of their last six contests.
• The Redhawks have not lost a regular season home game since December 6th, 2017. Since then, La Roche is an incredible 30-0 at the Kerr.
• Tyler Frederick leads the conference in scoring (18.9 PPG) and rebounding (11.8 RPG). Frederick's rebounds per game mark ranks 8th in D-III. Frederick has recorded 13 double-doubles (T-1st in AMCC, T-8th in D-III) and 19 games this season. Last year, he had 12 double-doubles in 27 games played.
• Over his last five games, Kennedy Smith has averaged 15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
• Darius Lawrence, who was recently featured in the Beaver County Times, has scored 13 or more points in 10 straight games. Lawrence has attempted 10 or less shots in eight of those ten contests while averaging 15.7 points per game.
• Austin Hannes has hit at least one three-pointer in 36 straight games. Hannes has averaged 2.6 triples per game this season (T-2nd in AMCC) while shooting 41.5% from beyond the arc.
• Luke McDonough has produced multiple blocks in each of his last four games. This season, he has averaged 1.4 blocks per game (T-5th in AMCC).
• In AMCC action, La Roche ranks first in points per game (84.4) and second in field goal percentage (47.9%).

Franciscan (OVR: 7-13, AMCC: 6-9)

News and Notes

• The Barons are currently 8th in league standings with a 6-9 conference record placing them 1.5 games out of playoff contention.
• After defeating La Roche mid-January, Franciscan has lost five of their last seven games. 
• FSU is 2-7 on the road this season.
• 6-6 Sophomore forward Travis Lien has been the teams leading scorer since returning mid-way through the season. Lien is averaging 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting over 45% from the field and three-point range in 11 games thus far.
• Junior guard Sean Hickey, who hit the go-ahead shot against LRU earlier this season, averages 14.5 points per game and 2.6 three-pointers per contest (T-2nd in AMCC).
• Senior center Matt Trent averages 14.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
• In conference play, the Barons have allowed their opponents to shoot 46.8% from the field (worst in AMCC).
• Franciscan has shot 46.8% from beyond the arc in conference action (1st in AMCC).
• The Barons have also shot well from the free throw line in AMCC play, knocking down 75.3% of their attempts (2nd in AMCC).

Series History

• Franciscan snapped an eight game losing streak against La Roche on January 15th, 2020, taking down the Redhawks in Steubenville, 72-71.
• LRU owns a 19-4 record against FSU dating back to the 2008-09 season.
• The last three meetings between the conference foes have been decided by nine points combined.