LORETTO, Pa. (Jan. 24, 2008) – Junior Grant Surprenant (Palatine, IL /Palatine) (Palatine, Ill. / Palatine) drilled 3-pointers at the end of the first and second overtimes to give redshirt junior Cale Nelson (Newville, PA /Big Spring) (Newville, Pa. / Big Spring) the opportunity to score 10 of his 13 points in the third overtime to spark the Saint Francis men's basketball team to a thrilling 92-84 triple overtime Northeast Conference victory over St. Francis-NY on Thursday night at DeGol Arena.

Redshirt junior Bassirou Dieng (Dakar, Senegal /Riverdale Baptist) (Dakar, Senegal / Riverdale Baptist) forced the first overtime when he made the back end of a pair of free throw attempts with 9.6 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the ballgame at 60-60. The Red Flash stiffened up their defense in the final 9.6 seconds, and didn't allow the Terriers to get a good look at the basket.

Saint Francis took an early four-point lead in the first overtime, but saw it evaporate when Marcus Williams found himself wide open for an easy layup to tie it at 68-68 with 1:22 remaining. Bass Yessoufou made a layup and Williams made the second of two free throw attempts to give the Terriers a 71-68 lead with 4.4 seconds showing on the clock. However, the Red Flash brought the ball up and Nelson sent a pass from the elbow to the right wing, where Surprenant nailed his fifth 3-pointer of the night as the buzzer sounded to tie the ballgame at 71-71 to force a second overtime.

St. Francis-NY then made the first two buckets of the second overtime to take a four-point advantage before Dieng completed a traditional 3-point play to bring SFU within 75-74 with 2:24 remaining. Jamaal Womack then made a layup to give SFC a three-point lead with his layup with 1:52 to go. The team's traded misses and turnovers over the next 1:38 until Surprenant tied it up at 77-77 on another 3-pointer from the corner with 14.2 seconds remaining. Saint Francis again tightened up its defense and forced the Terriers into a turnover as the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the second extra period.

The first-ever third overtime period in Saint Francis University history started with Kayode Ayeni making a pair of free throws to give SFC a 79-77 lead. However, Nelson's 3-point threat came alive as he hit back-to-back treys to turn SFU's two-point deficit into an 83-79 lead with 3:19 remaining. Nelson was 1-for-7 from the field until that point. Nelson and redshirt sophomore Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist) (Washington, D.C. / Riverdale Baptist) each made 4-of-4 free throw attempts in the final 3:07 to help seal Saint Francis' first victory in its last 10 games.

The Red Flash improved to 4-15 overall, and 2-6 in the Northeast Conference, by winning this pivotal league contest. It was the first overtime game for Saint Francis since Jan. 12, 2006, when it lost 73-70 versus Long Island. St. Francis-NY dropped to 0-4 in overtime games this season. It was the first-ever triple overtime game in Saint Francis University history, and it was the first overtime win since defeating Central Connecticut State, 84-81, on Dec. 4, 2004. Ironically, the Blue Devils come to town on Saturday for a 4:02 p.m. tipoff that will be televised on FSN-Pittsburgh, Cox Cable (in Connecticut and Rhode Island), FCS, WWCP-Fox 8 (Johnstown and Altoona), and ESPN Full Court.

Sweetney led a group of six Red Flash players who scored in double digits. He posted his first double-double of the season, and seventh of his career, with 21 points, a season-high 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Surprenant, the Northeast Conference's leader in 3-point field goal percentage, made 6-of-9 attempts from outside the arc for 18 points to go with 2 rebounds. As previously mentioned, Nelson scored 10 of his 13 points in the third overtime. He also tied a career high with 9 assists and added 4 rebounds. Junior Chris Berry (Seagoville, TX/Seagoville) (Seagoville, Texas / Seagoville) tallied 12 points, 7 rebounds, a career high 4 steals and 1 block, Dieng added 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal, and junior Marquis Ford (St. Petersburg, FL /St. Petersburg) (St. Petersburg, Fla. / St. Petersburg) added 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in his first start since Nov. 14, against Morgan State.

The Terriers also had six players in double-digits, paced by Hines and Ricky Cadell with 17 points each. Yessoufou had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Williams tallied 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

The game featured 15 ties and 13 lead changes. Nelson recorded his 200th career assist in the game, sophomore Mislav Jukic (Zagreb, Crotia/Life Center Acadamy) (Zagreb, Croatia / Life Center Academy) had 4 points, a career high 5 rebounds and a block, and the Red Flash held the Terriers, who averaged 14 offensive rebounds per game, to just 10 offensive rebounds in regulation plus three overtimes.

Postgame Quotes

Head coach Bobby Jones:

Opening Statement:

“First of all, I want to really congratulate our team. These guys have really hung together through the start of this season and where we are at this point in the season. I'm really proud of the way they've stuck together and continued to keep the faith, and continued to work hard in practice, and really pulled for each other. They truly deserve this victory tonight. What a great team effort. I thought everyone that played, contributed. With the way they played, and the way they've continued to work in practice, and really continued to stay together, it would have been a shame for them to lose this basketball game. I'm so proud of this team. I told them in the locker room, 'We're promised ten (more) opportunities to compete this year. We want to take them one at a time. This is certainly a step in the right direction and we have one day to prepare for Central (Connecticut State).' We'll enjoy this for a few minutes and then we'll get ready for Central Connecticut on Saturday afternoon.”

That's a dream scenario for a kid. As you are watching this, what's coming into your mind when you see Grant Surprenant (Palatine, IL /Palatine) hit two 3-pointers to force overtime?

“I'm happy for him because that was the same spot earlier in the year that he fumbled one out of bounds. I told him that he had an opportunity tonight to redeem himself. It couldn't have happened to a better person. Grant is a tremendous team player. He is a guy who continues to work and he's a leader on this basketball team, and he's an experienced guy. After you play long enough, you really love to see guys have those opportunities to make big shots. I credit Cale Nelson (Newville, PA /Big Spring). We turned it over right there at the end of regulation, but Cale maintained his composure as an experienced player should do. He made the nice pass to Grant in the corner for Grant to have an opportunity to make a big shot to force overtime. Both of these guys played an outstanding game, and I'm just happy for Grant to have an opportunity to make that shot.”

Why don't we see more of Grant in games?

“Grant is one of our many players where, particularly in conference play, match-ups are so important. There are nights where there might be a bigger, more athletic player at his position, and sometimes those nights are tough for him from a defensive standpoint. But we certainly know he is a tremendous shooter. He's a guy who has valuable experience on this ball club, and he's a team player. He waits for his opportunities, and that's what being a good team player is all about. I'm happy for him that he continues to work hard, continues to show great leadership and he was rewarded tonight for a tremendous shooting night and hit big shots after big shots. I couldn't be more happy for Grant.”

How valuable is it to have a guy like Grant who can energize the crowd?

“I don't think we've overlooked it. Grant's a tremendous shooter. There are nights, like I said earlier, where we know that he is going to be valuable in that ballgame depending on match-ups and depending on style of play, particularly once you hit conference. St. Francis-NY is a team that played four guards much of the night, so it's a little bit easier of a match-up for him. But Grant has a tremendous role on this team, and I'm so happy for him the way he shot the basketball tonight. And the same goes for Cale. Cale made big threes. These two guys really shot the ball well, particularly late in the game and in those three overtimes. Like he mentioned, all players want to play and all players want to play 40 minutes a game. But when you are part of a team, some nights your number is called and sometimes it is not. But that's the beauty of being part of a team. That's why I'm so proud of Grant. He's a junior and he has another year. We look forward to having him out there. This is a credit to him and how hard he works in individual workouts.”

Redshirt Junior Guard Cale Nelson (Newville, PA /Big Spring):

You had three points at that point in the third overtime. How did you come upon those three-pointers in the third overtime?:

“I'm pretty well conditioned. I knew I had my legs under me even though I played that long of a game. My teammates just kept me confident the whole time. The coaches just let me know that when it's there to take it. They told me to work the ball around and get open shots.”

When you miss some shots, how tough is it to stay confident and take shots in those big situations?

“It's tough for me when I miss them, but the guys on the team are unbelievable. They sit there and keep saying, 'Don't worry about it. Just keep shooting, keep attacking.' They keep my confidence level up.”

Is Grant the best shooter on the team?

“He's one of the purest shooters I've ever seen. He's in the gym shooting a lot. That's a credit to Grant.”

Junior Guard Grant Surprenant (Palatine, IL /Palatine):

Are you going to wake up tomorrow and wonder that this is a dream?

“Uh, yeah. Credit to the coaching staff. We've been having individual (workouts) everyday this week. They just keep saying, 'Keep shooting, your opportunities will come.' I just try to stay focused and not worry about why I'm not playing. I just cheer on my teammates. When I get my opportunity I just try to do my best.”

How do you come off the bench to hit three-pointers the way that you do?

“My teammates set some good screens for me. I just got open, and I have all of the confidence in myself because I shoot those shots everyday in practice.”

When you're hitting those kinds of shots, what's going through your mind?

“Basically when I make my first shot, my first thought is to get back and get a stop. If I get the opportunity and my feet are set, I've got the green light to shoot it and I have all of the confidence in myself.”

For you to hit one shot like that in a game is one thing, but to do that two times in a game, do you find yourself pinching yourself at all?

“Yeah. What can I say? It's a dream come true and all that, but I do credit my teammates. Like Cale said, everybody is staying positive through all of the adversity we've had this year.”

Has it been difficult averaging 11 minutes per game?

“Coach said everyone has a role on this team, and I know my role. I've accepted it. When my number is called I go in there and do my best just to try to help the team win.”

Did you have family here tonight?

“Actually it was a last minute thing. My mom came up and kind of surprised me on that. My dad couldn't get off work. I know he was at home listening, probably going crazy. But my mom surprised me. She called me last night and said she was coming to the game. I haven't seen them since the Arizona State game, so it's always nice to have my family out there.”