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Somerset, NJ -- Following a runner-up finish last year, projected Northeast Conference (NEC) Men’s Basketball favorite Saint Francis U landed two players on the Preseason All-NEC team as selected by the league’s head coaches.

The Red Flash are represented by junior guard Isaiah Blackmon (Charlotte, NC/West Charlotte) and sophomore guard Keith Braxton (Glassboro, NJ/The Lawrenceville School). Fairleigh Dickinson, picked second in the poll, features senior guard Darian Anderson (Washington, D.C./St. John’s College), while defending champion Mount St. Mary’s sports senior guard Junior Robinson (Mebane, NC/Eastern Alamance). Sacred Heart senior forward Joseph Lopez (Miami, FL/South Miami Senior (Broward College)) rounds of the five-player squad.

All five of the honorees are returning All-NEC performers.

The announcement of the team, along with the preseason coaches’ poll, was made on Wednesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the site of NEC Basketball “Social” Media Day.

Blackmon and Braxton were two of the sparkplugs as Saint Francis U reached its first NEC final since 1991 after being picked ninth in the 2016-17 preseason poll.

Blackmon, who just a year earlier suffered an ACL tear, quickly returned to peak form in his sophomore season to pace the high-scoring Red Flash with 13.7 ppg. A lights out shooter from distance, Blackmon hit 61 shots from outside the arc and led the NEC by draining 50.0 percent of his three-point opportunities. He was even better from downtown in the postseason, making 13 trifectas at a 56.5 percent clip over five games as SFU advanced to the second round of the CIT after falling in the NEC title game. The Charlotte, NC native also chipped in with 4.1 rpg on his way to second team All-NEC honors.

It was a rapid rise to stardom for Braxton, who turned in one of the great freshman seasons in recent conference vintage en-route to winning the NEC Rookie of the Year award. He was the lone freshman to earn All-NEC recognition, collecting second team plaudits, and was a seven-time NEC Rookie of the Week. The Glassboro, NJ product also received national attention last March when his off-balance, three-point fling at the buzzer at Wagner sent the Red Flash to the NEC title game. Braxton, who excels in transition and plays bigger than his 6’4” frame would suggest, averaged 13.1 ppg and was the top-ranked freshman rebounder in the nation last season with 8.6 per game. Braxton finished in the NEC top-10 in a variety of categories, including rebounding (fourth), double-doubles (9, fifth), field goal percentage (.532, seventh), steals (1.4, eight) and assists (3.2, tenth). He also shot 43.9 percent from three-point territory.

Anderson has been terrific from day one for the Knights, who will look to return to the lofty status they enjoyed in 2016 when the program won its fifth NEC title. The combo guard has built a well-deserved reputation as a go-to player in the clutch, and last season finished third in the conference with 17.0 ppg. Anderson, a two-time All-NEC second teamer who hails from Washington, D.C., also led the circuit with 2.0 spg, and ranked third in free throw shooting (.820) and assist/TO ratio (1.52), eighth in assists (3.2), ninth in three-point accuracy (.368) and tenth in made three-pointers (2.0/game). He enters his senior season with 1,326 points, tops among returning NEC players.

The centerpiece of the “Mount Mayhem” system, Robinson remains the heart-and-soul of a Mountaineer program looking to repeat as NEC champs this season. The cat-quick Mebane, NC product hit a team-high 70 shots from long range and ranked second on the Mount with 14.1 ppg and 2.9 apg in 2016-17. Robinson also led the conference in free throw accuracy (.868) and finished fourth in three-point proficiency (.398). He dropped 22 points in the NEC title game and then dazzled a nationwide audience with a game-high 23 points as the Mount edged New Orleans in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Twice named to the All-NEC second team, Robinson’s 1,169 points ranks him second in the NEC among active players.
As arguably the top returning post player in the conference, Lopez comes off a terrific junior campaign that saw him average 13.2 ppg on 56.5 percent shooting to go along with 8.5 rpg in his first year with the Pioneers. He ranked fourth in the NEC with 11 double-doubles, and also finished fourth in rebounding and blocks (1.2), and sixth in field goal percentage. The bruising power forward from Miami used his burly 6’7” frame to his advantage, pulling down nearly 3.3 offensive boards per game, the second-best mark in the league. At year’s end, Lopez was tabbed to the All-NEC third team.

2017-18 Northeast Conference Preseason All-Conference Team    
          
Name                 School   Pos.   Ht.   Wt.   Cl.  Hometown/High School
Darian Anderson      FDU       G     6-1   182   Sr   Washington, D.C./St. John’s College
Isaiah Blackmon      SFU       G     6-1   170   Jr   Charlotte, NC/West Charlotte
Keith Braxton        SFU       G     6-4   208   So   Glassboro, NJ/The Lawrenceville School
Joseph Lopez         SHU       F     6-7   220   Sr   Miami, FL/South Miami Senior (Broward College)
Junior Robinson      MSM       G     5-5   150   Sr   Mebane, NC/Eastern Alamance

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 37th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#22), Baltimore (#26), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.