Feb. 12, 2009
Late Quinnipiac Run Pivotal in Red Flash Loss at DeGol Arena
LORETTO, Pa. – Quinnipiac used a 10-2 run to turn a two-point deficit into a four-point victory in handing the Saint Francis men’s basketball team a tough 59-55 defeat in Northeast Conference action on Thursday night at DeGol Arena.
Junior Mislav Jukic (Zagreb, Croatia / Life Center Academy) paced the Red Flash with 15 points and a career high four assists, senior Marquis Ford (St. Petersburg, Fla. / St. Petersburg) made 4-of-5 three-point attempts for 14 points and six rebounds, and junior Devin Sweetney (Washington, D.C. / Riverdale Baptist) tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
Justin Rutty had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bobcats, and James Johnson and Bryan Geffen had 13 and 11 points, respectively.
SFU (5-19, 2-11 NEC) will be back in action at 7 p.m. on Saturday when Sacred Heart comes to DeGol Arean.
The Red Flash shot 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from outside the arc in the first 20 minutes to build a lead as large as 10, 21-11, halfway through the first half. Quinnipiac chipped away and only trailed 27-26 at the break.
Junior Kurt Hoffman (Johnstown, Pa. / Johnstown) made the second of two free throws to give Saint Francis its biggest lead of the second half, 34-30, with 15:13 remaining in the game. However, the Bobcats used a 6-0 run to pull ahead for the first time since early in the first half, 36-34, just two minutes later. They maintained that lead until Ford nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put SFU back on top, 49-48, with 5:43 to go. Geffen tied it at 49-49 with a free throw, and Jukic put the Flash back on top 51-49 with an easy layup off a great pass from senior Kyle Jackson (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Plainfield Central). Jukic’s layup came with 4:24 remaining.
But Quinnipiac went on a 8-0 run over the next four minutes until Sweetney stopped the bleeding with a layup to pull Saint Francis within 57-53 with 28 seconds remaining.
James Feldeine missed the front end of a one-and-one with 27.2 seconds remaining, and Sweetney came down with a big rebound, but the Red Flash missed a 3-point attempt at the other end. Johnson came down with the defensive rebound, and Feldeine capitalized on his next two free throws to put the game out of reach, 59-53, with seven seconds left.