City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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Battling through multiple whistles and a Drexel team that just wouldn’t go away, St. Joseph’s started its season off with a 82-81 win Friday night at Hagan Arena.

DeAndre Bembry led the Hawks with 23 points, 11 of which came on free throws. Isiah Miles added a double-double for St. Joe’s – which led by as many as 15 in the first half – with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

It was difficult for either team to develop a rhythm, with a total of 52 team fouls in the game, 32 of which came before halftime. Tavon Allen led Drexel with 20 points and freshman point guard Terrell Allen got the star and impressed with 18 points. The Dragons never got the game within one possession, but did have the Hawks’ lead down to four in the final 20 seconds.

At First… It was all Hawks early on. St. Joe’s went up 15-2 six minutes into the game. They also had a lead as big as 15 at 29-14, but Drexel wouldn’t go away easily, getting into within five before the first 20 minutes ended. Bembry led the way for St. Joe’s in the first half with 11 points, seven of which came at the charity stripe.

Turning point… Drexel hung around for all of the second half, but the Hawks would go up by nine when they scored twice on one possession with five minutes left in the game. James Demery hit two layups while getting fouled, though he missed both free throws. The two plays gave the Hawks some breathing room down the stretch.

Shining stars… Bembry scored 23, going 6-for-12 from the field and 11-for-15 from the foul line. But his performance was expected for the Hawks. But St. Joe’s also got double-digit performances from Aaron Brown (15), Miles (13), Pierfrancesco Olivia (12). For Drexel, Terrell Allen had a great debut, scoring 18 points and adding four assists. Tavon Allen also provided needed offense for the Dragons, getting 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting.

Up next…
St. Joe’s (1-0) vs. Niagara (Nov. 15, 5 p.m.)
Drexel (0-1) vs. High Point (Nov. 18, 7 p.m.)