LORETTO, Pa.  (Feb. 5, 2011) – Frankie Dobbs hit a jumper from the free throw line as time expired to help Bryant hand the Saint Francis men's basketball team a gut-wrenching 70-69 loss on Saturday afternoon at DeGol Arena.

 

The Red Flash rallied from a 10-point deficit with under three minutes remaining to take the lead on Umar Shannon (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City)'s 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds remaining. But the Bulldogs brought the ball up the court quickly. Dobbs lost a handle as he kicked the ball free, but had enough time to pick it up and release his shot for the game-winner.

 

Saint Francis dropped its third straight game to fall to 7-16 overall, and 5-7 in the Northeast Conference. Bryant improved to 8-16, and 6-6 in the league. The Red Flash will head into NEC Rivalry Week to face Robert Morris on Wednesday night at the Sewall Center in Moon Township.

 

Sophomores Will Felder (Cleveland, OH/Lutheran East Hs) and Chris Johnson (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) both had double-doubles for Saint Francis. Felder picked up his fourth of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Johnson recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 10 assists to go with 4 rebounds and a season-tying 4 steals. Shannon pitched in with 16 points.

 

Cecil Gresham had a game-high 19 points for the Bulldogs, while Dobbs and Alex Francis added 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

 

“I can't put into words how much this loss hurts,” said Saint Francis head coach Don Friday. “And I know that it really hurts our kids right now. I'm proud of the fight we showed in rallying back to take the lead, but we lost in the end and this one stings.”

 

SFU trailed 66-60 when Barry Latham made 1-of-2 free throws with 57.5 seconds remaining. Shannon followed with a trip to the stripe, where he made two attempts to pull the Flash within, 66-62 with 51.4 seconds to go. SFU got a break when Corey Maynard missed two free throws with 48.7 seconds on the clock. Shannon made it a 66-64 game with his jumper with 38.2 ticks on the game clock.

 

Dobbs seemingly sealed the Bryant win with two free throws with 25.3 seconds to go, but Felder answered with a long jumper with his toe on the line to pull the Red Flash within 68-66 with 17.3 seconds left. Johnson and sophomore Anthony Ervin (Chesterfield, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) then forced a Bulldogs player into a traveling call to get the ball back with 15.8 seconds remaining. SFU got the ball to Shannon at the top of the key for a 3-pointer to take the lead, 69-68. But Dobbs heroics lifted Bryant to the improbable win.

 

Senior Mislav Jukic (Zagreb, Crotia/Life Center Acadamy) had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block for the Red Flash, while freshman Scott Eatherton (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) had 7 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block, and Ervin added 6 points.

 

SFU shot 46.0 percent (23-of-50) from the field, and 85.7 percent (18-of-21) at the free throw line. The Bulldogs hit on 57.1 percent (16-of-28) in the second half, and finished 45.1 percent (23-of-51) for the game.

 

After several lead changes in the first half, Eatherton nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Red Flash a lead, 16-13, it wouldn't relinquish to rest of the period. It sparked a 10-2 run with Johnson hitting sophomore Tony Peters (Roselle, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) for a slam dunk followed by a Peters jumper and a Shannon trifecta to make it 23-15.

 

Gresham made a pair of free throws with 2:33 left to pull the Bulldogs within 29-26. However, Felder had an offensive rebound and layup and Johnson found Shannon for a long jumper to give SFU a 33-26 lead at the break.

 

Saint Francis shot 46.4 percent (13-of-28) in the first half and had a 19-15 advantage on the glass. Bryant shot just 30.4 percent (7-of-23) in the period, but made 5-of-10 from long distance.

 

For periodic men's basketball updates on Twitter, follow Director of Athletic Communications Bob Volkert at SFUVolkert.