St. Joseph's rebounds with win over Fordham

NEW YORK - St. Joseph's point guard Shavar Newkirk was twice named the Bronx player of the year by the New York Daily News. Playing in his hometown on Saturday at Fordham, Newkirk scored a career-high 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting, propelling the Hawks to an 82-60 victory.

After falling behind Fordham, 7-0, early in the first half and struggling to find their rhythm on offense for the first four minutes, DeAndre' Bembry found Newkirk all alone on a crosscourt pass in the left corner and his three-point shot put the Hawks on the board.

"High school, to tell you the truth," Newkirk said when asked the last time he shot so well. "It felt good that the hard work is paying off and I'm getting my bang for my buck."

St. Joseph's (19-4, 8-2 Atlantic Ten) came into Rose Hill Gym carrying a bit of a hangover from their 10-point loss to St. Bonaventure earlier in the week, but the Hawks notched their 19th victory of the season in their best start since the 2003-04 undefeated season.

"The plan by Fordham to play zone early because of our shooting numbers coming into the game was really a wise plan," St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said. ". . . I think the confident shooting of Papa Ndao, [Lamarr] Kimble, and Shavar [Newkirk] got us stabilized after a really poor start. We had three turnovers on our first four possessions. We don't turn the ball over like that."

Newkirk's bucket ignited a barrage of three-pointers from the Hawks. They shot 8 for 13 from distance in the first half and 11 for 24 in the game.

Ndao and Kimble each knocked down three three-pointers in the first half to give St. Joseph's a 40-30 halftime lead.

A-10 player of the year candidate Bembry finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, while leading scorer Isaiah Miles finished with 13 points and six rebounds after being held scoreless in the first half.

The Hawks have done one thing that no other college basketball team has done this season. They are a perfect 8-0 on an opponents home court (and 10-1 on the road including neutral-court games).

Fordham (12-9, 3-7) was without leading scorer Mandell Thomas (14.1 ppg.), who was held out with an ankle injury. Forwards Chris Sengfelder and Ryan Rhoomes finished with 16 points apiece for the Rams.