NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (Feb. 13, 2010) – Freshman Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) (Cleveland, Ohio / Lutheran East) hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers to give the Saint Francis men's basketball team the lead twice in the final 1 minute, 21 seconds in a thrilling 59-57 victory against Central Connecticut State on Saturday afternoon at Detrick Gymnasium.
The Red Flash led from the opening tipoff until Devan Bailey made a pair of free throws to give the Blue Devils a 55-53 lead with 2:11 remaining. SFU had gone 6:40 without a field goal until Felder hit the first of his two 3-pointers with 1:21 to go, giving the Flash a 56-55 lead.
CCSU's Joe Seymore was fouled at the other end and made both free throws to give the lead back to the Blue Devils, 57-56, with 55.4 seconds remaining. However, Saint Francis came back down the other end and freshman Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) (Newport News, Va. / Denbigh) found Felder for his second 3-pointer to make it 59-57, with 45.6 seconds remaining. SFU got two stops and Bailey missed a running layup with under 3 seconds to go to seal the win.
The Red Flash, who snapped a 23-game road losing streak on Thursday night at Bryant, improved to 9-16 overall, and 7-7 in the Northeast Conference. They have now won back-to-back NEC road games for the first time since the 2002-03 season. Central Connecticut State, which opened the afternoon in a three-way tie for seventh place with SFU, dropped to 9-16 overall and 6-8 in the Northeast Conference.
Senior Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist) (Washington, D.C. / Riverdale Baptist) had a game-high 16 points to go with 8 rebounds. He moved past Jeff Hamilton and Frank Puschauver into 12th place on the all-time SFU rebounds list (716).
Felder tallied 15 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal, and matched Sweetney with identical 6-for-10 efforts from the floor. Junior Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep) (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden / Solebury Prep) added 13 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, and Johnson contributed 2 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists.
David Simmons had a team-high 14 points for the Blue Devils, who also got 11 points and 2 rebounds from Seymore.
Saint Francis shot 55.6 percent from the floor, making 25-of-45 field goal attempts. The top two free throw shooting teams in the Northeast Conference struggled throughout the contest. The Red Flash were 5-of-9 (.556), while CCSU made 10-of-16 (.625).
The Red Flash jumped out of the gate to take an early 10-2 lead. They held the Blue Devils without a point for the first 4:36 of the ballgame when Shemik Thompson made a layup to cut it to 8-2. Freshman Anthony Ervin (Chesterfield, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) (Chesterfield, Va. / Fork Union Military Academy) gave Saint Francis an offensive boost in the first half. He scored all seven of his points in succession, beginning with a 3-pointer and then a pump-fake and baseline drive for layup to make it 19-7. He made it 21-10 with 8:43 to go in the half by nailing a jumper. He scored seven straight points for the Red Flash. After Saint Francis forced a turnover, senior Kurt Hoffman (Johnstown, PA /Greater Johnstown ) (Johnstown, Pa. / Greater Johnstown) gave the Red Flash their largest lead of the game, 23-10, on a jumper with 7:58 remaining.
Central Connecticut State chipped away and pulled within nine, 30-21, at halftime.
Orandi led the way with 9 points at the break, while Felder and Ervin had 7 points each. The Red Flash had 7 assists and 5 turnovers at the intermission.
The Blue Devils got 15 points from their bench in the first half, sparked by 6 from Vince Rosario.
SFU got its lead back to 11 on two occasions in the second half, but after Johnson scored on a layup to make it 45-34 with 13:36 to go, the Blue Devils began their comeback bid. CCSU used a 12-4 run to pull within three, 49-46, with 8:29 left to play. Sweetney stopped the bleeding with a jumper to make it 51-46 with 8:01 remaining.
However, Saint Francis' offensive struggles were just beginning. The Blue Devils scored the next five points to tie it at 51-51 with 4:06 to play before Sweetney made a pair of free throws with 3:05 left to make it 53-51. Central Connecticut State scored the next four points to take a 55-53 lead with 2:11 remaining, and held SFU without a field goal for 6:40 until Felder's 3-pointer from the elbow with 1:21 left.
Game Notes: Kurt Hoffman (Johnstown, PA /Greater Johnstown ) finished with 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and a career-high 3 blocks; the Red Flash had 11 of their 16 turnovers in the second half; SFU's bench was outscored 26-9; With nine wins on the season, Saint Francis now has its most wins since the 2004-05 season; SFU improved to 6-2 on the season when it takes a lead into halftime; the Red Flash improved to 3-1 on the year when a game is decided by three-or-fewer points; Saint Francis snapped a nine-game losing streak at Detrick Gymnasium in New Britain, Conn.
