Sweetney Picks Up First Career NEC Player-of-the-Week Award
LORETTO, Pa. (Jan. 28, 2008) – Redshirt sophomore Devin Sweetney (Washington, D.C. / Riverdale Baptist) helped lead the Saint Francis men’s basketball team to a pair of dramatic wins last week and was rewarded on Monday by being named the Choice Hotels Northeast Conference Player-of-the-Week.
Sweetney garnered his first career NEC Player-of-the-Week award after averaging 19.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and shot 61.5 percent from the field. He received four awards as the NEC Rookie-of-the-Week last season.
In one of the most exciting NEC games in recent memory, Sweetney recorded a pair of season-highs with 21 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with three assists and a steal in a 49-minute stint as the Red Flash outlasted St. Francis-NY in triple overtime, 92-84, on Thursday in Loretto. He helped seal the win by hitting 4-of-4 attempts from the charity stripe in the third extra session. It also marked his first double-double of the season and seventh of his career.
On Saturday, Sweetney sank 8-of-9 shots from the floor and finished with 18 points, three rebounds and three assists in Saint Francis’ last-second 73-72 triumph over visiting Central Connecticut State. He scored his 600th career point on Saturday and took over the team scoring lead with 12.0 ppg on the season. He also averages 5.1 rpg.
The Red Flash improved to 3-6 in the Northeast Conference with the two wins on the week, and are in seventh place in the 11-team league. The top eight teams make the conference playoffs. Saint Francis will return to action at 7 p.m. Thursday when it travels to Quinnipiac. That game can be heard live on The EDGE 1400 AM.