STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (Feb. 27, 2010) – Senior Devin Sweetney (Washington, DC /Riverdale Baptist) (Washington, D.C. / Riverdale Baptist) and freshman Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) (Cleveland, Ohio / Lutheran East) had double-doubles, but the Saint Francis men's basketball team dug itself too big of a hole in an 81-76 setback on Saturday night at Wagner.
The Red Flash allowed the Seahawks to shoot 63.0 percent from the field in the first half, and fell behind by as many as 19 points in the first stanza. Wagner led by as many as 24 points, 64-40, in the game, and had a 20-point edge with 7:48 remaining. SFU mounted a furious comeback, but fell short in the final minute.
Sweetney reached the 1,500-point mark for his career with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 3 assists and 3 steals. It was his fifth double-double of the year, and the 19th of his stellar career. Felder picked up his first career double-double with 17 points and 11 boards to go with 1 assist and 1 block, while junior Cedric Latimer (Los Angeles, CA /Windward) (Los Angeles, Calif. / Windward) had a team-high 21 points and 3 rebounds.
The Red Flash dropped to 11-18 overall to end the regular season, and finished with a 9-9 mark in the Northeast Conference. They secured the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, and will play No. 3 Mount St. Mary's on Thursday night in Emmitsburg, Md.
The Seahawks couldn't miss a shot after Saint Francis took an early 3-0 lead. They answered with a 19-2 run in holding the Red Flash without a field goal over the next 6:08. Wagner hit on 17-of-27 first half field goal attempts, and made 8-of-10 from outside the arc.
The Seahawks took their largest lead of the game, 64-40, on a pair of Tyler Murray free throws with 14:43 remaining. Saint Francis answered with eight straight points on a Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) (Newport News, Va. / Denbigh) 3-pointer, a Felder jumper, and a Latimer 3-pointer to pull within 16, 64-48, but Wagner regrouped and were able to bring the lead back to 20 on a Clifton Spiller free throw with 7:48 to go.
However, the Red Flash weren't finished and Johnson again hit a 3-pointer to spark a 19-3 run that would pull them within four points, 76-72, with 1:20 left in the game. SFU had the ball and a chance to make it a one possession game, but a missed shot went out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Seahawks.
Murray went to the line for a one-and-one with 31.7 seconds remaining, and sank the first one to make it a five-point game, 77-72. Sweetney made a pair of free throws to cut it to 77-74 with 21.6 ticks on the clock, but Chris Martin answered with two of his own from the charity stripe to make it 79-74 with 15.6 seconds to go.
Sweetney slammed one home to pull Saint Francis within three, 79-76, with 10.6 on the clock, but Martin again made two free throws with 4.5 seconds left to seal the win for Wagner.
The Seahawks finished 50.0 percent from the field (24-of-48), and 10-of-16 from long distance (62.5 percent). They came into the game shooting 60.9 percent from the free throw line, but made 23-of-30 in the contest (.767).
The Red Flash shot 50.0 percent in the second half (14-of-28) and finished 39.0 percent for the game (23-of-59). They hit on 21-of-25 free throws (.840).
Johnson finished with 8 points, 4 assists and 3 steals for SFU, while junior Sorena Orandi (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden/Solebury Prep) (Vastra Frolunda, Sweden / Solebury Prep) had 8 points and 1 assist.
Josh Thompson led all scorers with 23 points for the Seahawks. Martin had 21 points, Murray added 12 and Michael Orock finished with 10 points.
