City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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BROOKLYN -- Phil Martelli rarely shows much emotion on the sideline.

The 61-year-old who has spent 21 of those years as the Saint Joseph’s head coach typically watches his team with his arms folded or behind his back. Sometimes Martelli will give an official a piece of his mind or shout instructions to a player. But he’s far from the most animated coach in college basketball.

Still, there are times when Martelli will let his emotions out. Friday afternoon was one of those occasions.

As St. Joe’s star DeAndre’ Bembry slowly walked down the court to shoot then-meaningless free throws in the waning seconds of the Hawks’ 86-80 come-from-behind victory against George Washington in the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals, Martelli turned to the crowd and euphorically shook both of his fists.

The win – which came after George Washington hit 11 first-half 3-pointers and led by 14 at the break -- basically ensured St. Joe’s a spot in the NCAA Tournament, was the 400th of Martelli’s career and snapped a two-game losing streak. But, in the words of Martelli, the win mattered the most because he gets to come back with a group he’s believed in since August and play again Saturday (1 p.m. vs. top-seeded Dayton).

“Four hundred, to be honest with you, it never entered into any of my thought,” Martelli said. “Next week didn't enter into my thought. I just wanted to play tomorrow with this group. Like that's really a heck of a comeback.”

While Martelli did not want to talk about the possibilities of the NCAA Tournament, it’s hard to see a scenario in which St. Joe’s – which improved to 25-7 -- is left out of the field of 68.

The Hawks didn’t make it easy on themselves, however. They entered the Atlantic 10 Tournament on their first two-game losing streak of the year after falling to St. Bonaventure and Duquesne last week.

They didn’t make it easy on themselves on Friday, either.

George Washington came out of the gate on a ridiculous shooting tear. The fifth-seeded Colonials hit an astounding nine of their first 11 3-point attempts and went 11-for-16 (68.8 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half.

St. Joe’s actually had a solid shooting showing of its own in the first half, hitting 58.3 percent of its field goals. Still, the Hawks trailed 49-35 at the intermission and had 20 minutes to potentially save their NCAA Tournament lives.

“You know, in the halftime we thought about it, but we stayed confident,” senior forward Isaiah Miles said. “Like Coach said, everyone kept their eyes up. Everyone kept their head. We were confident. We knew the game wasn't over. We knew we had a whole 'nother half.”

And about that perimeter defense? “Well, I hoped they'd miss a shot,” Bembry said half-joking.

With a combination o a cool down from the Colonials and tighter defense from St. Joe’s, George Washington did not have a repeat performance in the second half. The Colonials went just 4-for-16 (25 percent) on 3-pointers in the second half, while the Wildcats outscored them, 51-31.

Bembry led the Hawks with 21 points, 14 of which came in the second half. He was one of five Hawks’ in double figures, and they also got 19 from Aaron Brown, 15 from Miles and a combined 26 from James Demery and freshman point guard Lamarr Kimble off the bench.

Demery, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, was the “player of the game” according to Bemrby. And it was Demery who hit a triple to give the Hawks their first lead of the second half at 70-69 with 6:26 left.

That was a big momentum shift as the Hawks faced similar scenarios in the losses to St. Bonaventure and Duquesne, but could never take the lead for good.

“It was great to see that because we were down most of the game,” Bembry said. “We knew that they would miss shots in the second half, so our offense is really not the problem for this team, we just knew if we get any stops, we'd come back and score, and that's what happened.”

The teams see-sawed a little bit after Demery’s three, but the Hawks took the lead for good when they went on a 9-0, highlighted by a Miles breakaway slam which put St. Joe’s up by six points with 2:30 left. A few minutes later, the Hawks and their fans were celebrating.

The Hawks were a No. 9 seed in the latest bracket projection from ESPN’s (and St. Joe’s color commentator) Joe Lunardi entering Friday. And while fans, and possibly players’ attention will be on his next prediction, Martelli isn’t concerned. And he hasn’t been all season.

“I have Lunardi right across campus. If he was to come in here right now, hand on the Bible, I have not said a word to him,” Martelli said. “I have not looked at an RPI. I have not looked at any of these experts. I don't have any idea. I have no idea.”

Regardless, there’s a good chance Martelli will be pumping his fist again on Selection Sunday.