City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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In an instant, what looked like a much-needed momentum boost for Saint Joseph’s turned into a moment of significant concern.

Junior guard Shavar Newkirk had an open path to the hoop nearing the end of the first half of the Hawks’ conference opener against George Washington, headed straight for a bucket that would have cut the halftime deficit to four after his team had trailed before by as many as a dozen.

Instead, Newkirk seemed to misstep under the basket, nearly going down as his left leg twisted awkwardly under him, throwing the ball up at the rim to no avail. As the buzzer sounded, he limped off the court, then collapsed in the corner of Hagan Arena, behind George Washington’s bench.

It took several minutes for Newkirk to be helped off, and when he was it was without putting any weight whatsoever on his leg.

Newkirk’s absence wasn’t discussed in the locker room, or during any point in the second half.

“Everybody’s focus was on winning the game,” sophomore point guard Lamarr Kimble said. "Everybody’s motto was 'next man up.'”

That mentality paid off, as St. Joe’s completed what Newkirk had helped start, finishing off the comeback for a 68-63 win over George Washington.

Afterwards, Newkirk was coy when asked about the knee.

“Feels better than ever,” he said afterwards. “I don’t know yet, but most likely it’s good. I’m not going to be off the court for long.”

He might feel that way, but his inability to put any weight on the leg afterwards -- he returned to the bench midway through the second half but remained seated the entire time, and needed crutches to get off the floor -- tells a different story.

Newkirk’s injury, ironically enough, came on a night where the Hawks were welcoming back his classmate, James Demery, who had missed the prior 10 games with a stress fracture in his foot.

Instead, they’re left wondering if they’ve got to play the remainder of the season without a player experiencing a career year.

“I have no idea,” Martelli said. “We’ll get an MRI and we’ll see what it is. I’m not medical, I don’t project what would happen or what could happen.”

Despite losing Newkirks’ team-high 21.2 ppg, the Hawks (7-5, 1-0 Atlantic 10) continued the momentum they’d picked up before his injury. A Chris Clover 3-pointer tied things up for the first time a little more than five minutes out of the half; Kimble 3-point play with 10:39 to go gave St. Joe’s its first lead of the game.

George Washington (8-6, 0-1), not a prolific 3-point shooting team, had knocked down six in the first 16 minutes to open up a 33-21 advantage. By the end of the game, they had 12 triples.

“The first half was very disappointing,” Martelli said. “To their credit, they weren’t quiet, they weren’t woe is us and what’s the matter, they weren’t whispering in there.I was pretty direct with certain guys, 24-to-8 on the glass, come on...it bothered me to put on the board ‘compete.’ I don’t like doing that. You get a scholarship, you play hard, that’s the way I see it.

“But if you come out losing 36-15 on the (3-point) line and still win the game...the players in that room deserve a lot of credit for that compete in the second half.”

Despite the 3-point differential and the rebounding battle, which George Washington won 49-29, Saint Joseph’s stayed within four points of the Colonials the entire second half thanks to committing three team turnovers and a 27-of-58 (46.6 percent) shooting performance.

Kimble hit the game-clincher with 32 seconds left, knocking down a 3-pointer from the right wing over the outstretched arm of GW junior Yuta Watanabe, who only 30 seconds prior had blocked a Kimble attempt from the exact same location.

That turned a one-point lead into a four-point advantage, though George Washington came up empty on its final two possessions anyways.

“I was kind of mad he blocked my shot a few times before,” he said. “I underestimated his length but I was able to get that one off and I had the confidence and it dropped down for me.”

Kimble and freshman Charlie Brown -- who had several clutch second-half 3-pointers of his own, including the go-ahead triple with just over two minutes left -- finished with 13 points to lead the Hawks. Newkirk managed 10 in the first half before his injury.

Demery played 25 minutes in the game, contributing nine points, four rebounds and four assists while playing a large role in George Washington’s Tyler Cavanaugh going just 4-of-20 from the floor.

“It was a great feeling,” he said. “A little rusty, a little bit, but we pulled out that win, came together as a team and we were able to pull it out.”

Junior guard Jaren Sina had 15 points on five 3-pointers to pace George Washington, which got a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) from impressive 6-10 freshman Collin Smith plus 10 each from Cavanaugh and sophomore Jordan Roland.

Saint Joseph’s continues league play next Tuesday with a trip to Rhode Island (9-4, 1-0).