BALTIMORE, Md. – Devin Sweetney hit two critical two free throws with 19.6 seconds remaining as St. Francis beat Morgan State 65-61 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 four games.
St. Francis never trailed against the Bears, who were picked by league coaches to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for the second straight season.
Marquis Ford scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Mislav Jukic added 11 points and seven rebounds while Greater Johnstown graduate Kurt Hoffman was 4-for-5 from the field in scoring eight points.
Reggie Holmes paced the Bears with 19 points. Joseph Morgan added 10 points in 15 minutes off the bench.
The Red Flash jumped out to a 12-2 lead and held Morgan State without a field goal for the first 4:51.
Sweetney led the way with eight points and five rebounds in the first half as the Red Flash built a 30-23 halftime lead.
St. Francis took its biggest lead of the game with 14:57 remaining in the second half. Ford drove to the basket for a layup and a 39-27 lead.
The Bears began to chip away and hit two 3-pointers in the final two minutes to make it interesting. Holmes cut the deficit to two 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-pointer at the other end 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 St. Francis 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 seal the win.
Shippensburg 71, UPJ 70
SHIPPENSBURG – Shippensburg rallied from an eight-point deficit in the second half to beat No. 20 Pitt-Johnstown.
Stephon Draper led Shippensburg (4-0) with 18 points. Derrick Graff had 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds while Brian Oleksiak tallied 11 points. Ryan Kraft and Justin Minter netted 10 points apiece.
Marcus Tullis scored a game-high 23 points and Quinton Davis added 21 points, for UPJ (5-1).
The game was tied at 34 at the half before the Mountain Cats opened up an eight point lead three times in the second half, including a 61-53 advantage with 8:12 to play. However, the Red Raiders battled back with a 9-1 run to tie the game for the seventh time at the 4:35 mark.
Shippensburg then took a 68-65 lead with 31 seconds remaining. The Red Raiders sealed the game by hitting three free throws down the stretch. Davis’ 3-pointer as time expired set the final.
Tullis grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Danny Branch chipped in 11 points.
Lady Cats to host Andrews, Cal tonight
Pitt-Johnstown, which is off to a 1-4 to start, will host No. 6 California University of Pennsylvania and Greater Johnstown graduate Crystal Andrews at 7 p.m. in the Sports Center.
Andrews scored 17 points in last week’s 81-43 victory over Seton Hill, which helped the Vulcans improve to 4-1.
Local Sports
Sports briefs - 12/2
- Local Sports
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Pirates pick up fourth straight victory
There were times earlier in his career when James McDonald would run into trouble and innings would slow to a crawl. Even worse, runners would disappear, and not in a good way.
Too much thinking. Not enough attacking. -
Sympathetic Pirates add to Cubs’ slide
Andrew McCutchen and the Pittsburgh Pirates can relate to what the Chicago Cubs are going through.
Perhaps more than anyone, they know what it feels like to be on an extended losing streak
– 12 in a row, in the Cubs’ case. -
AAABA League will open after busy offseason
The AAABA League opens on Tuesday at Point Stadium with two new, but familiar managers, a new but familiar sponsor, an expanded interleague schedule and two new franchises committed to the 2013 season.
A lot of activity took place during the offseason, including the AAABA national committee’s vote to expand the age limit to 21 years old beginning in 2013. -
Richland's Lumley settles for pair of silver medals
Paige Lumley was on an emotional roller coaster and seeing silver on Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University.
The Richland senior had state record jumps twice during the triple jump competition, but ended up with a silver–medal leap of 40 feet,
1¾ inches.
Defending state champion, second-seeded junior Lanae Newsome of Brookville, won with a jump of 40-3½. -
Ridge’s Dull takes second with school-record time
Matt Dull finished his athletic career with his best on Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University.
The Chestnut Ridge senior ran a career-best time of 38.12 to finish second in the 300 hurdles final, also setting another school record. -
Hit batsman lifts Pirates over Cubs
Matt Hague was hit by a pitch from Rafael Dolis with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates sent the Chicago Cubs to their 11th straight loss with a 3-2 victory Saturday night.
Hague took a 96 mph fastball from Dolis (2-4) in the back near the shoulder blade, scoring Jose Tabata and eliciting an incredulous look to the sky by the Cubs reliever. -
Generals return to defeat Sting
It’s been a dramatic month for the Johnstown Generals.
There were two postponed games that left the immediate and long-term future of the franchise in serious doubt just two weeks ago. -
Greater Johnstown Speedway failed to win the support of fans
Back in the late 1950’s, the area stock car racing landscape was populated by a very strong and popular three-track weekend circuit, consisting of the Windber Stadium Speedway, Jennerstown Speedway and the Ebensburg Fairgrounds Speedway.
Thus, it came as a major surprise when the announcement was made that a new track, the Greater Johnstown Speedway, would be built and begin operation in 1958. -
Final PIAA track update - No gold for local athletes
Richland senior Paige Lumley broke the state triple jump record twice in the PIAA Class AA Track and Field Championships today, but it wasn't enough to earn a gold medal.
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PIAA track update - Central Cambria's Brandis earns medal
Central Cambria's Alyssa Brandis claimed the first local medal of this morning's action at the PIAA Track and Field Championshps.
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