City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Andrew O'Connor (@andrewoconnor23)
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After an ugly offensive start, Saint Joseph’s turned it on in the second half to run away from Niagara, 73-62, behind a balanced attack.

Here’s the quick recap from the Hawks’ second consecutive win to start the year:

At First...
Saint Joseph’s and Niagara went back and forth to start the game. St. Joe’s star wing DeAndre Bembry shot the ball just once and was held scoreless in this period, as the Hawks depended on the senior duo of Isaiah Miles and Aaron Brown--who combined for 17 points in the period--to push the Hawks to a 34-28 lead to end the half. The Purple Eagles benefited from excellent 3-point shooting from junior forward Justin Satchell who scored 10 points on 4-5 shooting in the first half to keep them close.

Turning Point...
After going scoreless throughout the entire first half, Bembry came out hot in the second, needing just one minute to record his first bucket of the afternoon. Eight straight points by the Hawks’ junior wing began a 14-0 run that opened up the Hawks’ largest lead of the game, 48-31, with 14:15 remaining. SJU never looked back from that point, going up by as many as 24 in cruising to the win.

Standout Stars...
It was a balanced offensive effort for Saint Joseph’s, who had four different players score between 11 and 14 points. Miles and Brown were the team’s leading scorers with 14 apiece; Miles added four rebounds, four blocks and two steals while Brown chipped in four boards of his own. Bembry scored all of his dozen in the second half, to go along with six rebounds and seven assists, as well as a steal and a block. Finally, freshman forward Pierfrancesco “Checco” Oliva continued an impressive start to his college career with 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal.

Niagara was led by sophomore sharpshooter Matt Scott with 14 points of his own on 3-of-12 shooting; he would contribute eight rebounds. The Purple Eagles also got 13 points and six rebounds from Satchell, a junior forward.

Noteworthy Numbers...
After allowing Drexel to score 81 points against them in the previous game, the Hawks held the Purple Eagles to 62 points on 30 percent shooting (20-of-66); they were only at 42 points with five minutes remaining before a late scoring flurry with the game mostly out of hand.

The Hawks moved the ball well racking up a team total of 18 assists which is up from their season team average of 12 from last season, as well as the 12 they had against Drexel.

The Purple Eagles were forced to turn the ball over 16 times versus the 12 times Saint Joseph’s turned the ball over, creating quite a few extra shot attempts.

The Hawks offense clicked in the second half shooting an impressive 51.6 (16-of-31) as opposed to 35.7 percent (10-of-28) in the 1st. This shooting burst led to the eventual victory.

Up Next...
Saint Joseph’s (2-0) vs. Buffalo (Wed., Nov. 18, Hagan Arena)
Niagara (0-2) vs. Brown (Wed., Nov. 18, Niagara)