LORETTO, Pa. (Nov. 13, 2009) – Seniors Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist) (Washington, D.C. / Riverdale Baptist) and Kurt Hoffman (Johnstown, PA /Greater Johnstown ) (Johnstown, Pa. / Greater Johnstown) provided the leadership, while junior Cedric Latimer (Los Angeles, CA /Windward) (Los Angeles, Calif. / Windward) and freshman Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) (Cleveland, Ohio / Lutheran East) had successful debuts to lead the Saint Francis men's basketball team to a confidence-building 65-61 victory over two-time defending Patriot League champion, American, in both teams' season openers on Friday night at DeGol Arena.
Sweetney was 4-for-4 on free throw attempts in the final 32 seconds and finished with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds, Felder was sensational in his collegiate debut by nailing 6-of-8 field goal attempts for 17 points, five rebounds and a steal, and Latimer was 3-for-5 from the field with 10 points, five rebounds, one block and one steal. Hoffman had three points, seven rebounds and one block.
The Red Flash opened their season with a win for the first time since 2006-07, a 94-60 victory over Lock Haven, and it was the team's first season-opening win over a Division I opponent since the 2004-05 season. SFU will turn its attention to Big East power Notre Dame in a 7:30 p.m. game on Monday night. That game can be heard live on The EDGE 1400 AM, or live via the internet at www.goRedFlash.com.
Saint Francis had seven players make their debut in the red and white, and nerves showed early on. The Red Flash struggled mightily in the first half despite getting open looks, shooting just 25.0 percent (8-of-32) in the first 20 minutes. SFU had returning players record a total of 84 minutes in the game, while Latimer and six true freshmen logged 116 minutes of playing time.
The Red Flash trailed by 11, 31-20, at the break, but the team settled into a rhythm behind a boisterous crowd in the second half. Felder made all five of his field goal attempts, a pair of free throw attempts, and tallied 15 of his 17 points in the second session, while Sweetney had 14 points, four rebounds and a block in the second half.
Daniel Munoz made a jumper with 17:23 remaining in the second half to give the Eagles their largest lead of the game at 13 points, 36-23. But Sweetney had four points, and Felder and fellow freshman Anthony Ervin (Chesterfield, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) (Chesterfield, Va. / Fork Union Military Academy) added a pair of free throws each during an 8-0 run that pulled SFU within five, 36-31, with 13:35 to play.
American immediately got its lead back to seven on two free throws from Stephen Lumpkins, but SFU continued to chip away and Felder gave his team its first lead,44-43, since midway through the first half with a reverse layup with 7:37 to play.
Nick Hendra's 3-pointer gave the Eagles a brief 48-47 lead, but it would be the last of the game for the visiting Patriot League champs. Ervin hit a jumper to regain the lead for Saint Francis, Latimer scored a bucket and Sweetney nailed two more free throws during a 6-0 run to make it a53-48 lead with 4:16 remaining.
American would tie the game on three different occasions in the final minutes, but the Red Flash answered each time. Felder hit a big 3-pointer from the corner with 50 seconds to go to give SFU the lead for good, 60-57. Sweetney made four straight free throws, and freshman Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) (Newport News, Va. / Denbigh) made his first of two free throw attempts to ice the game with 1.7 seconds remaining.
Ervin finished with four points and two assists, Johnson had two points, five rebounds, and one steal, freshman Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J. / Atlantic City), who had several clutch shots, added eight points and two assists.
Saint Francis shot 50.0 percent (11-of-22) in the second half when it outscored American 45-30. The Red Flash also made 21-of-28 free throw attempts (75.0 percent).
Sweetney moved past four former Saint Francis players into 29th on the school's all-time scoring list. He now has 1,077 career points.
