City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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St. Joe’s men play at a thousand miles an hour, an approach that can make them look unstoppable on certain nights — and extremely beatable in others. 

The Hawks proved that the hard way last season, losing to Texas A&M-Commerce at home before turning around and beating Villanova and Princeton just weeks later. And the downside of the freedom Billy Lange gives his players to be aggressive showed up again on Friday, as St. Joe’s lost 73-67 to Central Connecticut State at Hagan Arena. 

Too often, the Hawks were settling for deep, contested 3-pointers or being overly aggressive when attacking the rim, losing control of the ball on a few attempted dunks that became turnovers. Much of that was due to an off night from senior guard Erik Reynolds, who was 2-of-14 from the floor and 1-of-11 from deep, setting the tone for a team that went 7-of-30 (23.3%) from beyond the arc. 

Lange’s made no secret that he wants Saint Joseph’s men to be playing fast. Is it possible the Hawks are playing too fast?

“Let’s just be fair,” the Hawks’ sixth-year head coach said. “If they go in, they’re great, if they miss, they’re bad, whether you take them fast or at the end [of the shot clock].”

For the second game in a row, the Hawks struggled against an opponent they were significantly favored against, only this time they weren’t able to pull it out. After beating Navy by just seven on Monday in a game they trailed for the first 30 minutes, the Hawks only led CCSU for 10 minutes — five in the beginning of the game, and five early in the second half. 

A 13-0 run early in the second half erased what had been a 10-point halftime deficit, giving St. Joe’s its first lead (42-40) since it was 11-9 five minutes into the contest, ending with the Hawks up 44-40 with under 15 minutes remaining.

That was the high point. CCSU responded with a 13-2 run of its own to re-take a lead it did not relinquish. The Blue Devils hit several clutch 3-pointers down the stretch, including one from well beyond 30 feet and another couple contested ones at the end of the shot clock — the exact type of shots the Hawks couldn’t connect on all night.

Junior forward Rasheer Fleming was a clear bright spot for St. Joe’s, his 19-point, 16-rebound double-double (6-11 FG, 2-5 3PT) a strong response after a quiet season opener. Sophomore guard Xzayvier Brown had more good than bad, finishing with 16 points (6-12 FG, 1-6 3PT), five rebounds, five assists, two steals and four turnovers.

It’s a game St. Joe’s will need to shake off quickly, with archrival Villanova coming to open Big 5 play on Tuesday evening.

A few other results from the weekend:

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WBB: La Salle lights-out against Delaware

Coming off a year in which 3-point shooting was one of the La Salle women’s biggest weaknesses, Saturday’s 68-54 win over Delaware was a breath of fresh air. 

Led by redshirt sophomore Ashleigh Connor, the Explorers were 8-of-19 (42%) from 3-point range, helping them shoot 25-of-58 (43%) from the game. It was an impressive bounce-back from a season-opening loss to Maine where La Salle managed just 51 points and shot 33.3% from the field. 

“It just wasn’t what we wanted on our first day out [against Maine],” La Salle coach Mountain MacGillivray said. “We were a little tight, anxious, and I was so proud of them today coming out here and just playing free.”

Connor, a transfer from Saint Louis, set a new career high with 21 points, going 6-of-10 from the floor and 4-5 from beyond the arc. The Western Pennsylvania native and Mount Lebanon grad was only used sparingly in two years at SLU, scoring a total of 33 points last season, but will immediately be one of the Explorers’ go-to offensive options. 

“It feels good, teammates found me in good spots, just feeling good, and I let it fly,” she said. “My teammates have my back like I always have theirs, it felt good.”

Joining Connor in double figures for the Explorers were junior forward Anna Przyszlak (11 points), grad forward Mackenzie Daleba (10) and sophomore wing Aryss Macktoon (10), who added nine rebounds to tie for the team lead. 

A 10-0 run to end the first half left La Salle with a 38-22 lead at the break, but Delaware scored the first 10 of the second half and went on a 14-2 run overall to get within four. But the Explorers’ resilience showed, a Joan Quinn 3-pointer starting a 16-4 stretch that spanned the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters to put the home team comfortably back in front. 

“We didn’t fold, we stayed together, took the best shot they had, pushed the lead right back to 16 at some point in there,” a visibly energized MacGillivray said afterwards. “Just really proud of what they did.”

The Explorers open Big 5 play on Wednesday with a trip to Drexel (6 PM tipoff). 

CoBL will have a feature from this game coming soon

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MBB: Temple smacks Monmouth

Two games into the season, the addition of Jamal Mashburn Jr. seems to be exactly what Adam Fisher was hoping for. The former New Mexico star, fresh off an impressive showing in the Owls’ season-opening win over Sacred Heart, was feeling it once again in leading Temple to a 103-74 win over Monmouth on Friday night in Newark (N.J.).

Mashburn led all scorers with 25 points, shooting 10-15 from the floor and 3-4 from 3-point range. Through two games, he’s averaging 25.5 ppg on .645/.727/.600 splits, hitting 8-of-11 from downtown so far. 

The Owls as a team shot 34-of-64 (53.1%), including 10-of-26 (38.5%) from the the arc. Five finished in double figures, with Steve Settle III (15 points, 10 rebounds), Dillon Battie (13 points), Babatunde Durodola (13 points) and Jameel Brown (11) joining Mashburn. 

Battie and Durodola, the two true freshmen in the rotation, combined to shoot 11-of-13 from the floor, with Battie’s two 3-point attempts their only misses of the evening; the two also grabbed a combined 12 rebounds in 33 minutes of action. 

Temple’s back in action on Tuesday with a home game against Drexel.

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MBB: Villanova cruises against NJIT

The ‘Nova men, fresh off a disappointing home loss to Columbia on Wednesday, took out their frustrations on NJIT on Friday night. The Wildcats got off to a slow start against the Highlanders, but a big-time run got Kyle Neptune’s squad in control, and it didn’t look back en route to a 91-54 win at the Finneran Pavilion. 

Grad student senior Eric Dixon paced five players in double figures for Villanova (2-1) with 22 points, the 6-8 Abington grad going 8-11 from the floor (1-2 3PT, 5-5 FT) and grabbing 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Wooga Poplar, Enoch Boakye and Tyler Perkins scored 12 apiece, while redshirt freshman Kris Parker (11 points) hit a couple 3-pointers to get him into double figures for the first time. 

A trio of early Highlander 3-pointers put them up 11-6 four minutes in, giving the ‘Nova faithful flashbacks to Wednesday, when Columbia hung 90 on its hosts. This time, the Wildcats responded with a 17-2 stretch to put them up 23-13, then pushed the advantage up to 16 by the break.

By the time six minutes had gone in the second half the lead was up to 30, a 12-0 run slamming the door shut. Villanova gets back in action on Tuesday with a trip to St. Joe’s (1-1). 

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MBB: Magee leads way for Drexel over Colgate

Drexel’s first test of the season came and went, and the Dragons passed with flying colors.

Kobe Magee poured in 28 points on Saturday as Drexel topped the four-time defending Patriot League champs, Colgate, 73-56. 

The junior wing got Drexel off to a hot start with a couple 3-pointers as the Dragons scored the first 10 points of the contest, opening up a 20-6 lead six minutes in on yet another Magee triple. Colgate got within six points once, later in the first half, and seven early in the second, but the Dragons re-established a double-digit lead quickly both times. 

A 6-5 wing out of Executive Education (Pa.), Magee finished 10-of-12 from the floor (6-8 3PT), adding nine rebounds as he came one board shy of his first collegiate double-double. In two starts this season, he’s averaging 21 points per game and is 10-of-16 from deep. 

In a matchup of two Methacton alums, Drexel’s Cole Hargrove (15 points, 9 rebounds) got the better of Colgate’s Jeff Woodward (14 points, five rebounds), Hargrove adding four blocks and three assists in the junior forward’s best collegiate game to date.

CoBL will have a feature from this game coming soon

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MBB: La Salle men crush Lafayette for Dunphy’s biggest win

The early returns on La Salle are looking good. 

The Explorer men stomped all over Lafayette on Saturday, the 81-60 final score not telling the full story. It was a 32-point edge, 79-47, when Fran Dunphy took his starters out with three minutes to play, the Leopards going on a run against the La Salle walk-ons to bring the margin a little closer. 

Even still, the 21-point victory is the biggest for Dunphy in his third season at La Salle, topping a 19-point win over Coppin State last November. It’s the program’s biggest win since an 89-52 win over Fordham on Jan. 2, 2021.

Redshirt junior guard Andres Marrero led four Explorers in double figures with 18 points. Jahlil White had a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double while Corey McKeithan and Daeshon Shepherd added 14 apiece for La Salle (2-0), which was 7-of-14 from 3-point range in the first half.

The Explorers dominated the glass, winning the rebound battle 52-27, thanks to White and center Demetrius Lilley, who finished with 13 rebounds along with his seven points. 

Next up is a Tuesday visit from Cornell (2-0). 

CoBL will have a feature from this game coming soon

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