Saint Joseph's Hawks speak their minds in win over Fairfield

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Phil Martelli found a pleasant surprise inside his locker room at halftime last night.

A normally silent bunch, the Saint Joseph's players had plenty to say at the break.

And the Hawks also made noise with their defense on the floor in their 60-51 victory over host Fairfield in front of 2,214 fans at the Arena at Harbor Yard.

Saint Joseph's (2-2) forced the Stags (1-3) into 10 turnovers in the second half. They resulted in lots of easy baskets as the Hawks shot 68.2 percent (15-for-22) for the second half, with most of their points coming on dunks and layups from a host of contributors.

Freshman guard Langston Galloway led the way with 15 points and freshman center C.J. Aiken had 13 points, eight rebounds and six blocks. Sophomore guard Carl Jones added 13 points and four steals. Senior Idris Hilliard contributed 12 points and six boards.

"The locker room at halftime, it was really significant how they talked to each other and they listened to each other," Martelli said. "That's the sign. It's a small step because this is a very quiet group . . . I was going to take that out as a positive win or lose that we had gotten back in it and it's significant they pull for each other.

"Individually we aren't there yet, but collectively we can be."

Martelli said he likes to break up the game into 4-minute segments and the Hawks' play to close the first half and open the second made a big difference.

Down 25-14 with 3:09 left in the first half and on the way to another rough night on offense (6-for-20 shooting in the first half), the Hawks finished the half on a 5-0 run. Aiken hit two foul shots and Galloway drained a three-pointer with 1:11 left to pull Saint Joseph's to within six, 25-19.

"We really emphasized at the media timeout winning the last 4 minutes," Martelli said.

A 6-0 run to start the second half - aided by two Fairfield turnovers - erased that six-point hole - and it took only 1:23 to do it. Hilliard started it with a jumper, and Galloway pulled the Hawks within two when he stole the ball from Ryan Olander and dunked at the other end.

Jones then tied it with a steal of Fairfield star guard Derek Needham (11 points) and another dunk to tie it at 25 with 18:37 left.

"We got it going and once we got the tie we felt like we were in the game," Galloway said.

Over the next 12 minutes, the game was tied eight times. But after Fairfield evened it at 44 with 6:10 left on a Colin Nickerson layup, the Hawks pulled away.

Aiken's layup with 5:35 to go gave Saint Joseph's the lead for good at 46-45 and the Hawks used an 11-2 run to seal the deal.

"We're still a work in progress," said Martelli, whose club won the rebound battle 32-29, but lost on turnovers (14 to 11) and assists (seven to 15). "We are walking out of here with a win despite seven assists and 14 turnovers, so there's a lot to be practiced but it is still November."