Sweetney’s Free Throws Seal Red Flash Victory at MEAC Favorite Morgan State
BALTIMORE, Md. (Dec. 1, 2008) -- Junior Devin Sweetney (Washington, D.C. / Riverdale Baptist) nailed two free throws with 19.6 seconds remaining to give the Saint Francis men’s basketball team a little breathing room in an exciting 65-61 victory at Morgan State on Monday night.
Sweetney recorded his second double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Red Flash to their second straight win, and third in their last four games.
Saint Francis will return to DeGol Arena for a crucial two-game homestand against Long Island and St. Francis-NY on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. The Red Flash are 3-4 overall heading into the first two Northeast Conference games of the year.
SFU never trailed in shooting 60.5 percent from the field against the Bears, who were picked by league coaches to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for the second straight season.
Senior Marquis Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla. / St. Petersburg) tallied 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and added 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Junior Mislav Jukic (Zagreb, Croatia / Life Center Academy) made 7-of-8 free throws in tallying 11 points and 7 rebounds, and junior Kurt Hoffman (Johnstown, Pa. / Johnstown) was 4-of-5 from the field for 8 points, 3 rebounds and a block.
Reggie Holmes paced the Bears with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists, and Joseph Morgan added 10 points in 15 minutes off the bench.
The Red Flash jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead, and held Morgan State without a field goal for the first 4:51 of the ballgame.
Sweetney led the way with 8 points and 5 rebounds in the first half as the Red Flash built a 30-23 halftime lead.
Saint Francis took its biggest lead of the game with 14:57 remaining in the second half. Ford drove to the basket for a layup to give SFU a 39-27 lead.
However, the Bears began to chip away and hit two 3-pointers in the final two minutes to make it interesting. Holmes made a triple with an elbow in his face to pull Morgan State within 61-59 with 29.9 seconds remaining. Nelson made 1-of-2 free throws to make it 62-59 with 28.5 seconds left. Holmes was then fouled while attempting a 3-point shot at the other end, and was sent to the foul line for three attempts with 21.2 seconds remaining. He drained the first two, but Sweetney came down with a rebound on the third attempt and made both his free throws to give SFU a 64-61 lead.
Morgan State missed several opportunities to tie in the final seconds. Jukic came down with a critical rebound, and made his first free throw attempt to give SFU a four-point edge, 65-61, with 4.9 seconds left to seal the win.