Good effort in close loss not enough for St. Joseph's Martelli

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - His team had clearly shown in the early part of the college basketball season that it is vastly improved, but St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli wasn't about to accept any bouquets.

Standing in the makeshift postgame interview area at the Hynes Center after Wednesday's 104-99 double-overtime loss to Iona, Martelli wasn't into accepting a moral victory when the real one was well within reach.

After consecutive 11-win seasons, the Hawks have started 3-2, and Wednesday's loss came to an Iona team that had hammered Maryland by 26 the previous game. It's an Iona squad with NCAA aspirations, yet the Hawks were able to literally run with the Gaels in a frenetic pace that resembled an NBA game.

When asked if he could take some positives out of this effort when his team never stopped fighting, Martelli didn't flinch.

"I don't really think you ever take a positive out of a loss, but not all losses are like the world has ended," he said. "This one will stay with us until [Thursday], when we practice for Penn State."

The Penn State game will be the Hawks' home opener, 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Everybody agrees that this St. Joseph's team has improved, but Martelli doesn't want the Hawks to be complacent, despite a win over an ACC team, Georgia Tech, and another victory over a potential NCAA squad, Tulsa.

For the Hawks to take a big leap, they will have to improve on the defensive end, a message the players no doubt received after this game.

"We definitely gave a good effort, and I was proud of my team, but we were kind of slow on defense, and they were getting by us, getting either buckets or fouls," said 6-foot-8 Ron Roberts, who had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks.

Actually, the Hawks were hurt inside by 6-7 Mike Glover, who had 34 points and 15 rebounds, and point guard Scott Machado, with 33 points, 10 assists, and 4 steals.

So, no doubt the defense has to improve, although this was an Iona team that is averaging 94.2 points per game. A lot of teams will have trouble stopping the Gaels.

There also is no doubt Iona was impressed by the Hawks.

"They are good," Machado said. "They score the ball, they have a lot of weapons, and they are well-coached."

He didn't mention the defense, which no doubt will remain the focal point for Martelli.

"It was a pretty tough pace," said 6-9 sophomore C.J. Aiken who had 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots in 46 minutes for the Hawks. "We like playing that way, but we have to do better on the defensive end with that type of pace."