LORETTO, Pa. (Jan. 30, 2010) – The Saint Francis men's basketball team ended regulation on a 9-0 run, and junior Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep) (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden / Solebury Prep) nailed a pair of free throws with 4.0 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Red Flash a thrilling 74-73 Northeast Conference victory over Long Island in front of the largest crowd of the year at DeGol Arena, on Saturday night.
Playing in his 100th career game, senior Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist) (Washington, D.C. / Riverdale Baptist) led all scorers with 28 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the year, and 17th of his career. Freshman Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) (Cleveland, Ohio / Lutheran East) added 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks, Orandi finished with 13 points, a career-tying 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and senior Kurt Hoffman (Johnstown, PA /Greater Johnstown ) (Johnstown, Pa. / Greater Johnstown) contributed 8 points, a career-tying 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block. Sweetney was 12-for-12 from the free throw line on the night.
The Red Flash won their second straight game over a team tied for third place in the Northeast Conference to improve to 7-14 overall, and 5-5 in the league. SFU improved to 7-4 at home, including a 5-1 mark in conference games. Saint Francis will complete its longest homestand of the year when arch rival, and first-place, Robert Morris visits for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on Thursday evening.
Jaytornah Wisseh paced the Blackbirds with 25 points, 15 of which came at the free throw line, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Jamal Olasewere added 11 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Long Island dropped to 8-13 overall, and 6-4 in the Northeast Conference, with the loss.
The Blackbirds broke open a 14-11 ballgame with a 10-0 run during a three minute stretch early in the first half. The Red Flash got it down to six points, 39-33, at halftime before charging back in the final minutes.
Michael Culpo hit a 3-pointer from the corner to give Long Island a seemingly insurmountable 66-57 lead with 4:51 left to play in the game.
But that's when SFU hit its stride as freshman Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) (Newport News, Va. / Denbigh) came up with a big defensive rebound and fed a long pass to Felder for a slam dunk to make it 66-59 with 3:57 to go. Another defensive stand and Sweetney rebound sent the fifth-year senior to the free throw line for a couple more points to make it 66-61 with 2:59 remaining. Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) then came up with his first career block at the other end and Felder wound up getting fouled while attempting a dunk. He made the second free throw to make it 66-62 with 2:27 left. With SFU in the double bonus, Sweetney went to the free throw line for a pair and made both with 1:15 left to make it a 66-64 ballgame. Sweetney came up with a huge defensive rebound to record his third double-double of the season and Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) fed a no-look pass to Felder for a slam dunk with 46.5 seconds remaining to tie the ball-game at 66-66, igniting the Red Flash crowd of 1,536. A missed 3-pointer led to an Orandi defensive rebound as SFU head coach Don Friday called a timeout with 15.6 seconds to go. However, Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh)'s 3-pointer hit the side of the rim as time expired to force overtime.
SFU won the overtime tip and Orandi fed a pass back to Felder at the free throw line to give the Red Flash a 68-66 lead. Wisseh answered with a layup and drew contact for a 3-point play to give the lead right back to LIU, 69-68, with 3:48 to go in the extra frame. A turnover led to Olasewere making a trip to the line for a pair of free throws. He made one to make it 70-68 with 3:28 left. Hoffman then went to the free throw line for two. He made both to tie the ballgame at 70-70 with 2:31 remaining. Felder came up with another big rebound and Orandi drew a foul to go to the line for two attempts with 58.8 seconds remaining. He nailed both to give the Red Flash a 72-70 lead. But Wisseh drew contact at the other end for a pair of free throws. He made the second attempt to make it 72-71, Red Flash, with 46.9 seconds left. After a Saint Francis turnover, Wisseh went to the line for two free throws with 12.0 seconds on the clock. He made both to give the Blackbirds a 73-72 lead. Orandi then came down and got fouled with 4.0 seconds remaining to go to the free throw line. He made both to give SFU a 74-73 lead. Wisseh drove almost the entire length of the floor on the final play, but his 16 foot floater hit the side of the rim and dropped to the floor, giving the Red Flash an improbable comeback win.
Saint Francis trailed by as many as 13 points in the game, and never led by more than two points.
Leading 14-11, Long Island went on a 10-0 run after SFU freshman Anthony Ervin (Chesterfield, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) (Chesterfield, Va. / Fork Union Military Academy) had a reverse layup. Arnold Mayorga sparked the Blackbirds' run with a long 3-pointer after a scramble for a loose ball to make it 17-11. Kyle Johnson hit another long 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 20-11, Mayorga got an offensive rebound and short jumper and David Hicks got a steal and was fouled to go to the line. He made both free throws with 11:30 left to make 24-11.
Freshman Tony Peters (Roselle, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) (Roselle, N.J. / Seton Hall Prep) found Felder at the top of the key for a 3-pointer to end the run and make it 24-14. The Red Flash chipped away and got the lead down to six, 39-33, at the break.
Long Island made six of its first eight field goal attempts, but the Red Flash held the Blackbirds to 4-of-14 the rest of the first half. Saint Francis shot 54.5 percent in the half, making 12-of-22 field goal attempts. The Blackbirds made 10-of-22 from the field (.455), and 13-of-14 (.929) from the free throw line. The Red Flash were 6-of-9 from the stripe (.667).
Sweetney led all scorers with 13 points, and passed Iuzzolino for 13th on the school's all-time scoring list in the half. Wisseh had a team-high nine points for LIU.
Game Notes: Senior Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist) recorded his third double-double of the season and 17th of his career. He also moved past Mike Iuzzolino (1989-91), Nick Leasure (1975-79) and Wilbur Trosch (1957-60) to move into 11th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,366 points; Sweetney averaged 25.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.0 spg and 1.5 bpg in two games during the weekend, and was a perfect 20-for-20 from the charity stripe; The contest marked the first overtime game of the year for the Red Flash, and the first since a 69-59 win over Bucknell on Nov. 22, 2008. SFU improved to 2-0 in overtime games under second-year head coach Don Friday; The crowd of 1,536 was the largest of the season for Saint Francis; Two nights after he recorded a career-high 31 minutes of action, freshman Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) logged 35; SFU won its seventh game of the season, surpassing the win total (6) from each of the previous two seasons; The Red Flash won their fifth Northeast Conference game of the year, giving them their most league wins since they recorded five during the 2006-07 season; Saint Francis has won two straight games for the second time this season, marking the first time since the 2006-07 season it has accomplished that feat; The Red Flash improved to 7-4 at DeGol Arena, and 5-1 in NEC home games; SFU improved to 4-5 in January, the most January wins for the program since the team went 4-4 in January of 2005. The Red Flash were a combined 4-35 in January games over the previous four seasons; Saint Francis won for just the third time this season (3-13) when it trailed at the half.
Post Game Quotes:
Head Coach Don Friday Opening Statement:
“That's why you prepare, that's why kids play for outcomes in environments like we had here tonight. I think it was a step in our process here. It was a grow up game because we'd get to a point where we'd start losing some games and we may fold. Tonight, we were down by six or seven with three and change to go. We just kept digging in. We had some bad offensive possessions that we still continue to battle at the defensive end, and we still continue to attack together. It's a good win. I'll let my student-athletes talk. I'm obviously coming off the rush of (this win). Beating a really good team in what coach Jim Ferry does at LIU. Jaytornah Wisseh is one of the best players in our league. It's a quality win. It's a big win, and I made sure that our kids understood that in the locker room. A lot of people are going to enjoy tonight, not just our kids, but the students here. That is the ring of Saint Francis University. I said to our kids to make sure that there is another ring within that that our kids enjoy this together because we have been through a lot. It hasn't always been hugs and kisses and a box of chocolates here. Tonight's why you play the game. It was a great college basketball game, and we're very fortunate to come out on top against a very good team.”
Do you feel that this is a turning point for the program?
Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist): “I definitely think it's going in the right direction. This week was a big two wins for the program and the season. Winning starts in practice. We've been working so hard. We had great focus this week with being on the same page and coming out with energy and effort. I just think that it carried over into these two games.”
Kurt Hoffman (Johnstown, PA /Greater Johnstown ): “Personally, it's been an emotional couple of weeks. I had some personal issues that I had to take care of last week. Just to be able to come into the gym and to work hard with these guys and to bond together over basketball has been a blessing. To have it come to fruition in these past two games, and to have it be a pivot point, has been very fulfilling. But we cannot settle. We've got to keep moving forward. We've got other goals that we've got to achieve.”
Sorena, you didn't hesitate going to the bucket at the end.
Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep): “No, I just do what coach tells us to do.” (laughter in the room)
What did he tell you to do?
Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep): “We have a play called 'Thunder' that we run. He basically said, 'After the timeout, I want you to take the ball to the left side. Come off a ball screen set by Kurt (Hoffman) and just take it to the basket. Look at the basket and take it.' And that's what I did.”
When you're standing at the free throw line with four seconds remaining, what is going through your mind? Have you been in that situation before?
Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep): “Yeah, I've been there a couple times when I was younger, but this is the first time that I've been here at this level. Actually, you don't really think about about the pressure because we had worked so hard and I feel that we deserved this. When you work so hard, like Kurt (Hoffman) said, there are so many emotions going through your mind. All you can really think about is winning. That's our main goal.”
What does it mean to be so far away from (Sweden) and win a game like this?
Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep): “It feels great because I've got friends checking the box scores and reading the website (www.goRedFlash.com). The last two years, when I go back home, I haven't had much to brag about. This year, I feel that we have grown and we are a better team. We got some good wins. I can go home and feel proud (about that).”
What do you think that these kinds of wins can do for you going forward?
Don Friday: “It's hard to explain to guys what it takes to win. You have to do it, and it's experience. I think we can recall now and say we did it. We've garnered some experience, and we've garnered some confidence. We've had games like this when it starts to get to a seven point deficit, seven has gone to nine, and nine has gone to 11 real quick. And we didn't panic tonight. Coming out to start the game, I thought that we were a little sluggish. We didn't have the energy that we had the other night to start the game. And they got up on us by 11 or 12 there. Then we fought there at the end of the first half.”
