Miles, defense get St. Joe's back on track
After allowing a season-high 99 points in Saturday's six-point loss at Davidson, St. Joseph's knew it had to clamp down on defense when visiting Massachusetts on Wednesday.
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/6AF4Q6DGJBCYNJ3N6UEHZ5KYAY.jpg)
After allowing a season-high 99 points in Saturday's six-point loss at Davidson, St. Joseph's knew it had to clamp down on defense when visiting Massachusetts on Wednesday.
The Hawks shook off Saturday's hiccup with Wednesday's 74-54 win over Massachusetts and moved into a first-place tie in the Atlantic Ten with VCU and Dayton. The Hawks (23-5 overall, 12-3 A-10) held the Minutemen to 2 for 22 from three-point range and lead the A-10 in three-point field goal defense (.296).
"It felt good being able to bounce back like that," forward Isaiah Miles said in a phone interview shortly after the win. "Against Davidson, it was a bad defensive game on our part, and we got back to playing how we play basketball and playing the defense we play on the road against a good UMass team."
UMass (12-15, 5-10) has been playing better recently, having won three of its previous four games heading into Wednesday. Earlier this season, the Minutemen were competitive in a 78-70 loss at St. Joseph's.
For Miles, it was another big game, one in which he took only 10 shots from the field but scored 20 points and added nine rebounds. He made 6 of 10 from the field, including 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.
Now averaging 17.9 points, Miles is seeing intensified defensive attention, and it was no different on Wednesday.
"They were doing their best not to allow me to get the ball off the pick and roll, but my teammates were helping me get open, looking for me to get to the open spot," Miles said.
DeAndre' Bembry added 18 points and nine rebounds, hitting 8 of 12 from the field. Aaron Brown added 14 points, and freshman point guard Lamarr Kimble came off the bench to score 10.
For Miles, it was his second big game against UMass. He had 27 points and 12 rebounds in the earlier win over the Minutemen. Then again, he has enjoyed big games against many opponents.
The Hawks, 10-1 on the road, have yet to lose two games in a row all season. They resume action on Sunday when hosting St. Louis, one of three regular-season games remaining.
@sjnard