St. Joseph's holds on to beat Drexel
Last year, St. Joseph's men's basketball team rode the shoulders of DeAndre' Bembry, its success pretty much dependent on Bembry's showing up and praying other players might make meaningful contributions.
Last year, St. Joseph's men's basketball team rode the shoulders of DeAndre' Bembry, its success pretty much dependent on Bembry's showing up and praying other players might make meaningful contributions.
It didn't happen all that much last season, but on Friday, in their season opener against West Philadelphia neighbor Drexel at Hagan Arena, the Hawks used a balanced attack to hold off the Dragons, 82-81.
The Hawks led 78-67 with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left. The Dragons finished with a flourish, outscoring the Hawks by 14-4 the rest of the way, but it wasn't enough.
Bembry finished with a game-high 23 points, Aaron Brown added 15, and Isaiah Miles opened the season with a double-double (13 points and 10 rebounds) as the Hawks extended their winning streak over Drexel to five games. The Dragons, who haven't won at St. Joe's since 1978, were led by Tavon Allen's 20 points off the bench. Freshman guard Terrell Allen added 18.
"In order for us to get to 82 it's got to be balanced," St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli said. "DeAndre' was good, not great. Aaron was great offensively, and Isaiah found some things."
While the game was high-scoring, it was marred by fouls. The Hawks converted 28 of 39 foul shots; the Dragons connected on 18 of 28.
Picked to finish seventh in the Atlantic Ten preseason poll, the Hawks jumped on the Dragons early, opening the game on an 11-2 run and leading by 29-13 with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
"Our slow start is what killed us," Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said. "We had to get off to a good start, and we didn't. We fouled a lot, and they called it. That crushed us from the start."
But the Dragons didn't let the game get away from them in the first half. Responding with a 15-4 run of its own, Drexel, which last beat the Hawks during the 2010-11 season, pulled to within 33-28 on a Terrell Allen layup with 4 minutes, 19 seconds left in the half.
In a much more competitive second half that saw the Dragons keep the score tight - they trailed, 66-61, with just over five minutes to play - Drexel simply couldn't make up for its slow start.
Drexel played without Damion Lee, the all-Colonial Athletic Association guard and the Dragons' best player, who transferred to Louisville after graduating in the spring.
However, another noticeable lineup change was coach Bruiser Flint's decision to bring Tavon Allen, the team's second-leading scorer last season, off the bench.
@JmitchInquirer