City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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In another last-second thriller, the Saint Joseph’s Hawks (3-1) narrowly defeated the Old Dominion Monarchs (3-1) on the final day of action at the Hall of Fame tip-off tournament. The Hawks’ Shavar Newkirk came up with the winning basket, as his last-second jumper lifted St. Joe’s to a 66-64 victory.

At First…
These teams were neck-and-neck the entire way from start to finish, with neither leading by more than five at any point. The Hawks took the first lead and held it until the nine-minute mark in the first half, before Old Dominion took over. The Monarchs led 31-30 at halftime.

Turning Point…
Old Dominion seemed to be taking over in the mid-second half, building up a 45-40 lead early on, and holding on to it all the way to the final few minutes, but then St. Joe’s took the lead, 56-53 with 4:50 to go.

The final minute of play began with a 60-60 tie, which St. Joe’s would break with an Aaron Brown free throw and a James Demery layup. Old Dominion pulled within one on a Denzell Taylor lay-in with 21 seconds left, would tie it at 64 on two Aaron Bacote free throws with eight seconds left after Newkirk missed the second of two free throws.

Newkirk redeemed himself, with the game-winning jumper, with one second to play, and the Hawks would hold on for the final second to eke out the victory.

Shining Stars…
Newkirk obviously had the biggest play of the day, but he wasn't quite the most productive St. Joe's player on the afternoon.

Senior forward Isaiah Miles had an impressive game, dropping 18 points in the victory for St. Joe’s. He also had six boards. The Hawks’ best playmaker, DeAndre Bembry, also contributed 15 points on the day, completing a double-double with ten rebounds as well.

Old Dominion guard Trey Freeman flirted with a double-double of his own, scoring 15 and ripping down eight boards for the Monarchs.

Noteworthy Numbers…
Shooting was a huge struggle for both teams, with Old Dominion shooting 38-percent and St. Joe’s shooting 44-percent from the field. The two sides only combined for seven threes, each shooting 20-percent from long distance. Old Dominion committed a stunning 26 fouls, while the Hawks played a much cleaner game, only fouling the Monarchs 15 times.

Up Next…
Saint Joseph’s (4-1) vs. Villanova (12/1, 7:00 p.m.)
Old Dominion (3-2) @ VCU (11/28, 4:00 p.m.)