BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Jan. 9, 2010) – Junior Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep) (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden / Solebury Prep) scored a season-high 20 points, but the Saint Francis men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 89-80 effort at first-place Long Island on Saturday at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center.

The Red Flash hit the 80-point mark for the first time in almost two years, but committed 20 turnovers in falling to 4-11 overall, and 2-2 in the Northeast Conference.

Orandi has been outstanding over the past month, and continued that trend against the Blackbirds by making 7-of-11 field goal attempts, including 4-of-6 from outside the arc. Senior Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist) (Washington, D.C. / Riverdale Baptist) tallied 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, and junior Cedric Latimer (Los Angeles, CA /Windward) (Los Angeles, Calif. / Windward) had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

Senior Jaytornah Wisseh scored 23 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to pace the Blackbirds. He just missed a double-double with 9 assists, and also contributed 4 rebounds. He was 11-of-14 at the free throw line. Kyle Johnson and David Hicks added 20 and 13 points, respectively.

Saint Francis didn't back down from the Northeast Conference's first-place team from the get-go, and put a scare into the unbeaten Blackbirds in the final minutes.

However, Long Island (6-9, 4-0 NEC) made 12-of-16 free throws in the final 1 minute, 36 seconds to prevent the Red Flash from pulling off the comeback.

After taking a six-point, 39-33, lead into halftime, the Blackbirds built their lead to eight early in the second half. But Sweetney and Orandi, following a Wisseh layup, hit back-to-back 3-pointers on trips down the floor to cut the lead to four points, 44-40, with 16:44 remaining. Hicks answered with a 3-pointer before Sweetney went in for a layup to make it 47-42. The Red Flash got a stop on the defensive end, and had a chance to make it a one possession game, but Latimer was whistled for a moving screen.

Saint Francis turnovers allowed Long Island to pull away, taking its largest lead of the game at 13 points, 65-52, on a 3-pointer by Wisseh with 7:56 to play. After Hicks' 3-pointer gave the Blackbirds a 70-57 lead with 6:19 remaining, the Red Flash began to make a run.

Sweetney and freshman Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) (Newport News, Va. / Denbigh) made back-to-back layups to cut it to nine before Wisseh made a layup to bring it back to 11, 72-61. But Orandi made a pair of free throws after a technical foul was assessed, and Latimer made a 3-pointer to make it a ballgame, 72-66, with 3:53 remaining in the game.

The Red Flash forced Corey Wright into a turnover to get the ball back, but a missed jumper and defensive rebound by Kenny Onyechi gave the ball back to the Blackbirds. Onyechi, who came into the game 42-of-80 (.525) from the free throw line, made a pair of free throws to put the Blackbirds up, 74-66, with 3:04 on the clock. Felder answered with a layup to bring it back to six points, 74-68, with 2:26 to play, but Hicks made a big 3-pointer with 1:58 to play to make it a nine point game, and force the Red Flash into fouling the rest of the way. Long Island made 12-of-16 from the charity stripe in the final 1:36 to seal the victory.

Game Notes: The Blackbirds shot 58.0 percent (29-of-50) in the game, and made 11-of-20 three-point attempts (.550). They came into the game as a 33.2 percent 3-point shooting team; Saint Francis tied a season high with 13 three-pointers on 25 attempts (.520), and shot 53.6 percent (30-of-56) in the game; The Red Flash out-rebounded an opponent for the third consecutive game, 30-24, and reached the 80-point plateau for the first time since Jan. 24, 2008, which was a 92-84 triple overtime victory over St. Francis-NY. SFU last reached 80 points in a regulation game on Dec. 21, 2007, a 99-80 loss at Duquesne, which spanned 63 games; SFU's 30 made field goals represent a season high; The Red Flash tied a season high with 25 three-point field goal attempts; Saint Francis tied a season high with 20 turnovers for the second straight game, and for the third time this season; The Red Flash shot over 50.0 percent (.536) for the fourth time this season; Senior Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist) went over 1,250 career points and 100 steals in the game. He now has 1,260 career points, 644 rebounds, and 102 steals; junior Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep) had a career-high four 3-pointers, and season highs with 20 points and seven field goals. Over the past six games, Orandi is averaging 10.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 2.1 apg, while shooting 50.0 percent (22-of-44) from the field.