Quick Report: Ole Miss 81, Saint Joseph's 68

Shavar Newkirk (above) had 19 points as St. Joe's suffered its first loss of the season Sunday night. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Zach Drapkin (@ZachDrapkin) &
Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Saint Joseph’s perfect start to the season was spoiled in the Virgin Islands, as Ole Miss’ size was too much for the Hawks to handle in an 81-66 Paradise Jam semifinal loss.

At First…
With several role players stepping up early, St. Joe’s (3-1) was able to hang with Ole Miss (4-0) through the game’s opening 20 minutes. Six early points by starting big man Markell Lodge, the most the redshirt sophomore had ever scored in a game, were an early notice that the Hawks would be deeper than just a two-guard backcourt, and though the Rebels were able to jump out to a 21-16 lead, the Hawks responded with a 12-3 run. Ole Miss, ultimately, took a 41-37 lead into the locker room.

Turning Point…
The Ole Miss defense clamped down on St. Joe’s out of intermission, holding the Hawks without a bucket for nearly five minutes after an early 3-pointer by SJU’s Lamarr Kimble, using that span to go up 53-42 by the first media timeout.

St. Joe's was never able to get closer than six the rest of the way, as the Rebels came up with an answer for every punch the Hawks' threw. The last time it was within single digits was with 8:30 remaining, but Ole Miss' Cullen Neal hit a back-breaking 3-pointer off an offensive rebound a minute later to push the lead back to 13.

Standout Stars…
Ole Miss senior Sebastian Saiz is a load to handle at 6-foot-9 and 240 pounds, and the St. Joe’s frontcourt couldn’t contain him for long. Saiz finished with a game-high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting, grabbing 12 rebounds as well for his 11th career double-double. Junior guard Deandre Burnett added 20 points, the third time in four games he’s hit that benchmark -- though a far cry from the 41 he dropped in the tournament opener against Oral Roberts.

Saint Joseph’s was led by a 19-point outing from sophomore guard Shavar Newkirk, who also had six rebounds, three assists and three steals against two turnovers, shooting 6-of-10 from the floor. Charlie Brown was 5-of-10 (3-5 3PT) for his 13 points. Kimble, who'd set his career high in each of the previous three games, settled for 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting.

Noteworthy Numbers…
8: Saint Joseph’s was out-rebounded 42-33 by Ole Miss, and it didn’t help that their three primary big men -- Javon Baumann, Markell Lodge and Jai Williams -- combined for just eight rebounds, five of which were grabbed by Baumann. Two individual Ole Miss players, Saiz and

Junior Justas Furmanavicius (10 rebounds), out-did that effort by themselves.

.455: It might not have won them the game, but Phil Martelli can’t be thrilled with his team’s showing from the foul stripe: 10-for-22. Lodge missed all three of his attempts, Kimble missed half of his six and Newkirk was 6-for-10.

Up Next...
Saint Joseph’s (3-1) vs. NC State/Creighton -- Mon., Nov. 21, 7:00 PM