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St. Joe's 83, USciences 54 (MBB): Notes + Quotes

11/05/2021, 12:00am EDT
By Matthew Ryan

Matthew Ryan (@matthewryan02)
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After St. Joe’s and University of Sciences announced its upcoming merger following the 2021-22 academic year, it’s only fitting that the two schools open up their men’s basketball seasons with an exhibition against one another.

The contest was the first with no fan restrictions at Hagan Arena since the beginning of 2020 and, for the Devils, their first official game since that time.

Here’s a notebook of the game that saw the St. Joe's defeat Sciences, 83-54:

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St. Joe's freshman Kacper Kłaczek (above) was one of two rookies in the starting lineup. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Kłaczek a surprise start for the Hawks

Earlier in the offseason, St. Joe’s coach Billy Lange said that freshman Erik Reynolds II would probably start, but when both Reynolds and fellow freshman Kacper Kłaczek were announced in the starting line-up, that was a surprise.

That Hawks’ wing depth made it unlikely that Kłaczek would get the start coming into the season, but as the summer progressed, the consistency that the 6-foot-8 forward showed led to his addition in the starting five.

“(My staff was) alerting me to the consistent of his energy and his mood and what that was doing for our team and he’s just competitive,” Lange said. “We need a paradigm shift in our program in terms of what is expected every day from a physical output; he brings it.”

Lange also credited Kłaczek’s “intensity” on the defensive side of the ball, stating “that gets rewarded in this program.”

Kłaczek is native of Poland but played his high school ball in New York at Long Island Lutheran. In his first taste of action for the Hawks, Kłaczek looked solid. He went on a personal 5-0 run early in the first half, getting to the basket and knocking down a three. As the first 20 minutes came to a close, Kłaczek threw down a semi-contested dunk that got the crowd going. He finished the game with seven points and four rebounds.

“He's got great energy,” Lange said. “He does so many different things. We’re excited about his growth and his upside.”

Jordan Hall, Taylor Funk and Ejike Obinna joined the two freshmen in the starting lineup. Following the game, Lange said that he doesn’t see the starting lineup changing prior to Tuesday's season opener against Maryland-Eastern Shore. 

The starters for the Hawks played an average of 20 minutes apiece and combined for 50 points, led by Hall who had a game-high-tying 15 points, followed by Obinna (12 points), Reynolds (eight) and Funk (eight).

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Taylor Funk (above) and St. Joe's did not shoot the ball well in their exhibition win. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Hawks struggle to find their shot

Against an undersized Sciences team — the Hawks won the rebound battle by 27 — St. Joe’s struggled to shoot with efficiency in their first public appearance of the season.

The misses were frequent, but didn’t show much in the score because the Hawks scored 17 second chance points. The Hawks shot just 39.7% from the field and 27.5% from three. Last season, efficiency was an issue for St. Joe’s, who shot 40.9% from the field and 31.4% from three, numbers that ranked 311th and 286th in the nation, respectively. Shooting that ball at this level won’t slide when facing solid D-I competition that can match up down low.

“We missed way too many easy shots around the basket,” Lange said. “A lot of this is just rush and getting used to each other. I thought the ball stuck way too much.”

Despite the significant size advantage, the 6-10 Obinna and 7-footer Charles Coleman combined to shoot just five-for-11 from the field. Jack Forrest missed all five of his shot attempts, all three-pointers, and Funk made just two of his seven shots.

There were some bright spots shooting the ball. Eight different players made at least one three pointer and three players knocked down two. Free throw shooting wasn’t an issue as Lange’s squad made 18 of their 22 tries.

“There are a lot of things that are being done for the first time, so I don’t want to overreact or underreact,” Lange said. “I think right now, and this will be this way for a good portion of the beginning of the season, is to appropriately react. … We have some things we have to clean up.”

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Jordan Hall (above) nearly transferred to Texas A&M and flirted with the NBA but ultimately returned to SJU. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

Hall picks up right where he left off

This offseason was an eventful one for Hall. After an impressive freshman campaign that saw him earn an A-10 all-freshman team selection, Hall decided to enter the transfer portal, citing personal reasons for his departure from St. Joe’s. 

Hall verbally committed to Texas A&M in early May and also went through some of the NBA Draft process, working out for four teams. He had a fifth workout planned but instead tried out for the Team USA U19 World Cup team. However almost two months after committing to play for the Aggies, Hall decided to return to Hawk Hill, bringing with him excitement about the upcoming season.

“Bringing a player of that talent back with that experience is a big bonus for us,” Lange said.

Last season, Hall showcased his all around game, averaging 10.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists (most amongst freshmen in the NCAA) and, against USciences, continued to show his versatility. Despite starting with another guard in Reynolds, Hall was the Hawks’ primary ball handler and he continuously delivered impressive passes, finishing with four assists. He also added eight rebounds.

The 6-7 guard grabbed eight rebounds and scored inside and out, knocking down two threes, something he showed a lot of towards the end last year when he made 2.6 three pointers per game over the last eight contests.

It's no secret that Hall will be the focal point of the offense, and, for the A-10 preseason tenth picked Hawks, the play of the sophomore will dictate how far they will go.

“For me to be starting last year and then be back this year, I just want to use my experience and what I’ve done over the offseason and just bring my knowledge and my talent to the team and just try help us win,” Hall said.

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Sciences impresses in the second half after tough first 20 minutes

After entering intermission trailing 40-18, USciences put together an impressive second half, scoring 36 points and showing its fight. Sophomore guard Matthew McCaffrey led the charge in the second half for the Devils, scoring 10 of his game-high-tying 15 points.

It’s been over a year and a half since the Devils completed their last season where they went 6-20 (4-15 CACC) and finished in last place in the South Division. This season is a bittersweet one for the Devils who are in their last year with a team.

The gap of playing time leaves lots of questions around who will play for them this season. In the exhibition, head coach Michael Connors rolled out a starting lineup of McCaffrey, Tommy Gardler, Austin Kennedy, Joemel McNair and Sean Simon.

Of the starting five, Simon is the only one that has played a regular season game for Sciences. As a sophomore in 2019-20, the 6-foot-2 guard was third on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game while shooting an impressive 41.7% from behind the arc. Against St. Joe’s Simon had an inefficient showing, making just three of his nine shots and only one of his five three-point attempts en route to a nine point performance. Kennedy was the only other starter with college basketball experience, last playing for LIU Post in 2017-18 where he averaged 6.1 points.


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