City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Saint Joseph’s overcame an early cold spell to win its fifth straight game overall and 10th in an 11-game stretch, running away from La Salle for a 69-48 win at Tom Gola Arena on Sunday afternoon.

At First...
La Salle locked down its city rival early on, holding St. Joe’s to just five points through the opening seven minutes of the game, at which point the Explorers had a 12-5 advantage thanks to early triples by Jordan Price and Cleon Roberts. The Hawks managed just eight points total in the first dozen minutes of play as the Explorers opened up an 11-point advantage, 19-8, with 8:20 remaining until halftime.

Turning Point…
The St. Joe’s shots started to fall as freshman Lamarr “Fresh” Kimble and senior Aaron Brown each had buckets to key a 7-0 run, and that momentum snowballed into a 20-3 stretch to close out the half for the Hawks. After missing their first seven 3-pointers of the afternoon, two to close out the first half helped SJU to a 28-22 advantage at the break, part of an 11-0 run that gave the Hawks their first double-digit lead with 18:53 to play. Another 10-0 run that began five minute slater made it 44-28, and La Salle never got within single digits again.

Standout Stars…
DeAndre' Bembry (16 points, six assists, four rebounds) and Isaiah Miles (14 points, nine rebounds) continued their standout seasons with double-digit performances to lead the way for the Hawks. The SJU bench also had a nice day, with sophomore wing James Demery (nine points) and Lamarr Kimble (eight) pacing a group of reserves that had 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting. That helped make up for starters Shavar Newkirk, Aaron Brown and Papa Ndao, who combined for 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting.

La Salle was led by redshirt junior guard Jordan Price with 14 points, while Cleon Roberts added 12 and Johnnie Shuler 11 for the Explorers.

Noteworthy Number(s)...
19: La Salle couldn’t hang onto the ball, coughing it up nearly 20 times against a St. Joe’s defense that hasn’t been a stalwart in that category this year. The Explorers, who only averaged 12.6 turnovers per game entering play, didn't quite match their 21 giveaways that they had against Rowan, but other than that it was their worst showing of the season in that category.

13: Saint Joseph's grabbed a baker's dozen on the offensive glass, helping them to a 35-27 rebounding advantage on La Salle. That, along with the turnovers helped them to a 60-46 advantage in terms of shots taken.

Up Next…
La Salle (5-12, 1-5 A-10) @ Duquesne (Jan. 26, 7 PM)
Saint Joseph’s (15-3, 4-1 A-10) vs. Massachusetts (Jan. 27, 7 PM)