LORETTO, Pa. (Feb. 18, 2010) – The Saint Francis men's basketball team clamped down on defense in the second half and bounced back from a 15-point second half deficit to stun the Northeast Conference's second-place team, Quinnipiac, in a 73-68 victory on Thursday night at DeGol Arena.

Freshman Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) (Cleveland, Ohio / Lutheran East), who is the reigning Northeast Conference Rookie-of-the-Week, had a career-high 20 points and hit a key 3-pointer for the second straight game to help the Red Flash earn their third consecutive win to improve to 10-16 overall, and 8-7 in the Northeast Conference.

Felder hit two 3-pointers in the final 1:19 in last Saturday's win at Central Connecticut State, and again hit a big trifecta against the Bobcats.

After a 5-0 Quinnipiac run had cut Saint Francis' lead to 66-63 with 1:59 remaining, Felder came up with a big defensive rebound and then found himself alone in the corner for a 3-pointer to give the Red Flash a six-point lead with 46 seconds remaining. Senior Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist) (Washington, D.C. / Riverdale Baptist) put the game on ice at the free throw line. He made two free throws with 22.7 seconds remaining to make it 71-63, and then nailed two more with 11.9 seconds left to make it 73-65.

Felder had 7 points and 2 blocks and was 8-for-8 at the stripe to go with his 20 points, while Sweetney scored eight of his 13 points on a perfect night at the free throw line and added 6 rebounds and 1 block. Junior Cedric Latimer (Los Angeles, CA /Windward) (Los Angeles, Calif. / Windward) had 12 points, 4 rebounds and one monstrous dunk, and freshman Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) (Newport News, Va. / Denbigh) had a career-high 11 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

James Feldeine and Justin Rutty both recorded double-doubles for the Bobcats. Feldeine had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Rutty had 14 points and 16 rebounds.

The Red Flash shot 58.3 percent in the second half, and finished at 43.8 percent for the game. Quinnipiac shot just 28.1 percent in the second half and 32.8 percent in the contest. The Bobcats held a 50-33 advantage in rebounds, but Saint Francis won the rebounding battle, 20-19, in the second half.

SFU has now reached double digits in wins for the first time since 2004-05, and has won three straight games for the first time since the 2007-08 season. The Red Flash will be back in action at 4 p.m. on Saturday when Sacred Heart visits on Senior Day at DeGol Arena.

Feldeine gave Quinnipiac its largest lead of the night on a 3-pointer to make it 38-21 with 1:32 remaining in the first half. But it was mostly Saint Francis the rest of the way as it finished the first 20 minutes on a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 38-25 at halftime.

Rutty came out of the break with a strong move to the basket to start the scoring and make it 40-25. But, after an offensive rebound, senior Kurt Hoffman (Johnstown, PA /Greater Johnstown ) (Johnstown, Pa. / Greater Johnstown) gave the Red Flash the lift they needed.

He kicked out to Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) for a 3-pointer to answer and make it 40-28. Hoffman then made a 16-footer off a feed from Orandi to make it 40-30. Felder came up with a big defensive rebound and Hoffman drove the lane for a layup to make it 40-32.

The Bobcats got their lead back to as big as 11, and held a 48-38 lead when Deontay Twyman hit a 3-pointer with 13:19 remaining in the game.

However, that is when Saint Francis kicked its defense into a second gear. The Red Flash held Quinnipiac without a field goal for the next 9 minutes, 49 seconds during a 26-8 run. During the run, the Bobcats were 0-for-11 from the field and had six turnovers. However, they went 8-for-8 at the stripe to stay in the ballgame.

The run started with a layup by junior Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep) (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden / Solebury Prep) before Latimer took a jab-step and drove the baseline for an acrobatic one-handed dunk that brought the crowd to its feet in pulling SFU within 48-42 with 11:57 to go. It was the beginning of eight straight Saint Francis points for Latimer, who answered a pair of Feldeine free throws with back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 50-48. Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) tied the game at 50-50 with on a jumper with 9:14 to go. It was the first time the game was tied since the 16:11 mark of the first half (6-6).

Freshman Anthony Ervin (Chesterfield, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) (Chesterfield, Va. / Fork Union Military Academy) stripped the ball at the other end, and Sweetney made a tremendous spin move and layup to give SFU its first lead since early in the first half, 52-50. Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) then came up with his second steal of the game and was fouled. He went to the line for a one-and-one, and made one to make it 53-50 with 7:49 to go.

With a 59-56 lead, the Red Flash went on a 5-0 run at the foul line to take their biggest lead, 64-56, with 3:51 to play. Felder made a pair of free throws with 3:14 remaining to keep it at eight points, 66-58, before Quinnipiac went on its 5-0 run. However, Felder and Sweetney provided the last-second heroics to send the Saint Francis faithful happily to the exits.

After winning the opening tipoff, the Red Flash staked a 6-2 lead on 3-pointers by Sweetney and Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh), respectively.

However, the Bobcats took control of the boards and went on an 18-1 run in holding Saint Francis without a field goal for almost eight minutes to take a 20-7 lead with 11:16 to go in the first half. The Red Flash finished the half by going toe-to-toe with Quinnipiac, both teams scoring 18 points over the final 11-plus minutes. But the Bobcats held a 38-25 lead at the break. Felder made a pair of free throws and Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) came up with a steal and fed to freshman Austin Fowler (Farmington Hills, MI /Birmingham Brother Rice ) (Farmington Hills, Mich. / Birmingham Brother Rice) for a layup as the Red Flash finished on a 4-0 run to make it 38-25 at the half.

The Red Flash shot just 29.2 percent in the first half, and were out-rebounded 31-13. Quinnipiac shot 37.1 percent, but had an 8-2 edge in second chance points.

Feldeine had a game-high 14 points and 8 boards at the break, while Rutty had 8 points and 8 rebounds for the Bobcats.

Felder had a team-high 8 points and 2 blocks, and Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) had 5 points and 2 assists at halftime for the Red Flash.

Hoffman finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, and Orandi contributed 7 points, 3 rebounds and a season-high 5 assists.

Game Notes: The Red Flash snapped a four-game losing streak in the series against Quinnipiac; SFU won its third straight game, the first since winning three straight in the early part of the 2007-08 season; Saint Francis will go for its fourth straight win on Senior Day, against Sacred Heart; The Red Flash have not won four straight games since the 2002-03 season; Saint Francis head coach Don Friday will be seeking his 100^th career win on Saturday vs. the Pioneers; SFU has reached double digits in wins for the first time since the 2004-05 campaign; The Red Flash improved to 8-5 at home, including 6-2 in Northeast Conference games; Saint Francis has guaranteed itself a winning record at DeGol Arena for the first time since the 2004-05 season (11-2); SFU snapped Quinnipiac's four-game winning streak, and the Bobcats had won 12 of 13 entering Thursday's game; Freshmen Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) (20) and Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) (11) had career highs in points; Saint Francis attempted a season-high 34 free throw attempts.

Quinnipiac Head Coach Tom Moore
“Most of the time what usually happens in basketball games is that the team that plays harder and plays with more purpose throughout the game usually wins. Saint Francis played much harder, and played with much more purpose over the full 40 minutes. It's a tribute to them, their coaching staff and the kids. Down 17 with a minute and a half to go in the first half, they just played hard. They stayed with what they do. They hurt us a lot on the high-ball screen. It got them confidence and momentum and it snowballed on us.”

Saint Francis jumped out with a couple of 3-pointers early, but you were able to bounce back and put a run on them. Why weren't you able to sustain that through halftime and into the second half?
“I didn't like how we handled the last couple possessions of the first half. I thought that set a little bit of a tone. We had a real sort of a complete breakdown of our team defensive principles in the second half. Our weak-side defenders in the second half weren't reacting, not rotating. There were a lot of things. It's the first time it's happened to us since November that we had a flat team defensive performance. Again, I don't want to emphasize us too much as Saint Francis was terrific tonight. Like I said, they played with a great deal of belief, and conviction, purpose and they carried the game. I thought that they were carrying the game with their body language and with how hard they were playing as we were getting up by 17 (points). They played hard. They played hard.”

I thought that you might come in here looking ahead to the Robert Morris game (on Saturday), but you didn't come out like that in the first half? You guys were intense in the first half, but that disappeared at halftime.
“Yes, it really did (disappear). We got in a little foul trouble and it got us a little deeper into our bench. I don't think that a lot of our guys, because (of the foul trouble), were able to get into a rhythm. And then in the second half, I sort of had to stay with a group for a long time. I thought that we showed fatigue late. Now you're fighting a team that is a little fresher. Things are going against you. You could feel it. I mean you could feel it when it got to eight. We haven't, like I said since November, we haven't really been flat emotionally on the defensive end for that long of a stretch as we were tonight. It's really an inopportune time for it to happen with us going to Robert Morris on Saturday night.”

How dangerous can a team like Saint Francis be going down the stretch into the Northeast Conference playoffs?
“They are really well coached. Don is doing a really good job. For him to have his team at 8-7 now with so many new faces and without (Mislav) Jukic (in the lineup). He's doing a terrific job to have this team at 8-7 in the league and this late. If they play with that much, like I said I think purpose is the best word, and conviction, they are going to be tough for anybody to beat home or away the rest of the way.”

Saint Francis Head Coach Don Friday
“Coming into this game, we knew this was a big game. Certainly Quinnipiac is one of the upper echelon teams right now, at least they have proven that over the course of this Northeast Conference season. I couldn't really put my finger on it, but they really, in the beginning, they had a lot of the energy and they were really on their toes. That was evident by a 31-13 rebounding margin that we were just getting blitzed. We hung in there and we fought to get that thing to 13 at the half. And at halftime, we talked to our kids and I challenged them. Not in an up in your face way, but I just challenged them to say that this was a moment to serve notice. We weren't really doing a good job of containing the basketball, and because we were doing a lot of rotating on dribble penetration, and we were doing a lot of rotating on closing down. Those really long close-outs, they were just teeing off on us on the glass. Second half, I thought that we did a really good job of guarding the basketball better and making them have to work and not giving (James) Feldeine some of those really easy looks he was getting in the first half. We made (Justin) Rutty work. And I think that you can look at some guys who stepped up in spurts. Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh)'s ball pressure got better in the second half. We got some really timely play there at one point. When Kurt (Hoffman) went out with that nose injury, then Cedric (Latimer) goes in there and scores eight points in a row. Anthony Ervin (Chesterfield, Va./Fork Union Military Academy)'s defense on Feldeine was really important. Sorena (Orandi) makes some really good plays, and then Kurt Hoffman (Johnstown, PA /Greater Johnstown ) comes back. What an inspirational lift. He misses that little bunny, it rolls in and out on him and then he makes another big shot. He creates a foul and then Devin (Sweetney) gets the offensive rebound. I just thought that down the stretch we had good energy, we were on our toes. And then we got it there to four minutes and junior here (Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs)) makes some really, really big plays again for us. Going t the free throw line, and I thought that his rebounding was a lot better down the stretch. I've got a lot of confidence in this guy (Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs)). He's a player. He's not a freshman, he's a player. Of a lot of the kids that I have been around, and I can say this about Will because I think we've got a pretty good relationship, Will is one of those special kids that he wants to be really, really good. I can put him in a class with kids like JR Holden, kids like Brian Muckle, kids like Michael Rhodes, kids like Eric Anthony. Kids that I have coached over the year that have been a notch above. They approach this a lot differently. They don't approach this as a sport. But they really approach it with passion and commitment. And they work hard at it. Not just on days that they feel good, everyday. When you've got gold, you embrace it and you hold onto it because you know you have it. I know that I've got something real special in this lad. End of statement.”

Tell us about the shot in the corner (3-pointer at the end). That was the dagger in them at the end. You didn't seem to hesitate?
Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs): “I just shot the ball, I mean it was an open shot. I knew what situation we were in. I knew what time in the game it was, but I just had to shoot it. I had confidence in myself. I know that I can make the shot, and I just felt like 'why not?'”

You saw a lot of shots rim out during the course of the night. It almost seemed like that shot was going to again, but it got a little kiss of the glass and went in. What were you thinking?
Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs): “Not again. We needed that one, but I was happy that it rolled in. The last couple games I have been able to hit some shots down the stretch. I'm just thankful that they go down. I'll take them when they are there, and I will take them with confidence.”

You were down by 17 at one point. This says a lot about character?
Don Friday: “We kept chipping away at it. What we starting doing was we started guarding. And we stopped giving them some of those easy put-backs that they were getting. Once we started guarding, and we made a little bit of an adjustment, we started digging down with the wings. Their four-men and five-men were really hurting us on the glass. And because we were coming and doubling Rutty with the opposite post, that was creating all of that where they were just teeing off and running downhill at the glass. We started digging with the guards and when we did that I think we were able to keep body on body there with the four and the five. We started keeping these guys where there was better spacing, where there weren't two guys on one man. Rutty is a really good player. I mean he is a handful. As you look at us right now, we are playing without a true center. So we have to get home a little bit differently when we meet a tough match-up. But at the same time, our kids gutted it out. And I think that maybe as we worked it defensively and as we made them have to guard us, and we were a little bit more patient with our shot selection in the second half. There was a sequence where Devin took really two quick shots in the first and I knew that we were out of whack. And then in the second half, we didn't take too many forced shots. We were getting a lot of uncontested shots, and that was a good feeling. I think that was a calming feeling.”

Cedric Latimer (Los Angeles, CA /Windward) had that big dunk, but got two quick fouls and had to come out. But Kurt Hoffman (Johnstown, PA /Greater Johnstown ) came in and gave a big boost?
Don Friday: “I think the one constant was that Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) was on the floor the whole time. I don't think I got Will out until about the seven minute mark in the second half. If we go back, Will and I had a talk in my office early in the season because we talked about sustained wind. He could go for about three minutes and he was gassed. He was out there tonight for 13 or 14 minutes playing against some pretty good people. The fact that I was able to keep him on the floor and he was able to contribute offensively and defensively, that was really, really huge. But then when Kurt came back in (after the injury), I think people thought he was done for the night. And I didn't hear anything. The trainers, they were scrambling around trying to find that mask. He comes right back in. He went right back at Rutty. Then he got a layup and an and-one. He's not the guy that is going to lead the charge, but boy he's the guy that connects it all. I think the best thing for Will has been that Kurt has been out there. (Kurt) can direct traffic, so that (Will) can do those things. I won't give you coach-speak. This was a big win for our program tonight. Absolutely. I'm not going to play that cool. This is a huge win for our program. Coming in here, we knew that they had one loss in the month of January. They have won a lot of games at home and on the road. That's a good team. The two wins last weekend, the swagger, being down 17 in the first half. Not that I would want to go back out there and play them again with that kind of deficit, but I think that as it went along our kids started to believe. They really knuckled down. No matter what you say, when I leave this room and I leave this gym, I said to my staff that we'll worry about Sacred Heart tomorrow. We're going to relish this big win. But we have a lot more stuff to accomplish here before this is done. We're not done playing ball.”