City of Basketball Love

Daniel Hughes (@dan1el_sun)

& David Gough (@dg0ugh)

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St Joe's held off Penn by a score of 78-71 in front of a sold out crowd at the Palestra on Saturday night. 

At First…

With both Saint Joseph’s and Penn desperate to break a three-game losing streak, neither team was able to push ahead to a decisive lead early on. The Hawks started to pull away with a 13-2 run midway through the first half that was fueled by great shooting from mid-range, behind the arc and at the free throw line, and their biggest lead of 15 came with five and a half minutes remaining in the first half. Penn began to crawl back, and after St. Joe’s failed to score a field goal in the last 6:30 of the half, the Quakers cut the lead to 35-31 going into the break.

Turning Point…

Charlie Brown hit a 3-pointer at the 17:28 mark of the second half ending a drought of zero field goals for nearly nine minutes. That three gave the Hawks back the lead for good after Penn had taken a 36-35 lead two minutes in. About two minutes later, Hawks sophomore Chris Clover hit a three and on the next possession James Demery scored a fastbreak layup to put St. Joe’s up by eight.

With three minutes to go, Penn started a comeback of their own, pulling to within four on a 3-point shot by freshman Ryan Betley, but it was not enough, as the Hawks, who shot 72.1 percent from the line, held on to win 78-71.

Standout Stars…

Hawks sophomore tri-captain Lamarr Kimble led St. Joe’s with 23 points. Kimble helped close out the game for St. Joe’s from the line, shooting 9-for-11 from the charity stripe.

Senior guard Matt Howard scored 19 points for the Quakers. Howard, who came into the game averaging 12.5 points, scored 13 in just the first half before getting into foul trouble in the second half. He was two points shy of his career high.

Noteworthy Numbers…

32 - The Quakers attempted 32 three point attempts for their highest total of the season. They only converted on eight for 25 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

4- Four Hawks players scored double figures. Kimble had 21 points, Demery scored 15, Clover added 10, and Brown ended up with 19, a career high.
 

Up Next…

Saint Joseph’s (9-9) at St. Bonaventure, Wed., Jan. 22

Penn (6-9) at La Salle Sat., Jan. 25