St. Joseph's routs Drexel

A year ago, St. Joseph's was shredded on the boards by Drexel, but this is a new season and a totally different Hawks team.

Continuing to make each game its own personal block party, St. Joseph's rejected a school-record 16 shots and made enough critical ones in Wednesday's 62-49 win over Drexel at Hagan Arena.

St. Joseph's (5-2) entered the game seventh nationally in blocked shots, averaging 7.5 per game.

C.J. Aiken, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, led the block brigade with nine, tying his career high. Aiken added 13 points and three rebounds.

In the balanced Hawks attack, Halil Kanacevic, the 6-8 sophomore transfer from Hofstra, added 12 points and eight rebounds. Guards Langston Galloway and Carl Jones each scored 11 points.

Freshman Damion Lee led Drexel with 14 points.

Last season, it was Drexel that put the Hawks in a tailspin. St. Joe's began the season 3-2 before losing to Drexel, 62-50, to begin a six-game skid.

Drexel outrebounded the Hawks by 46-23 last season. On Wednesday, the Dragons held just a 40-37 advantage.

When the Hawks weren't blocking shots, they were running the court and connecting on several alley-oop dunks, with the high-flying Aiken providing some explosive finishes.

Trailing by 30-19 at halftime, Drexel (2-3) scored the first five points of the second half, but then St. Joseph's went on a 7-0 run, extending its lead to 37-24.

Daryus Quarles began the 7-0 run by scoring inside on an assist from Kanacevic. Jones, who had just three first-half points, then scored on a traditional three-point play, and Galloway ended the run with a driving layup.

Drexel never got back into the game.

St. Joseph's didn't enjoy the same start as it did in its last game, but, then again, it's hard to begin by scoring the first 22 points as the Hawks did in Saturday's 65-47 win over visiting Penn State.

Wednesday's game was close before St. Joe's went on a 14-1 run to end the first half and take its 11-point lead.

While St. Joseph's shot just 10 for 26 from the field in the first half, Drexel was 8 for 28, and the Dragons committed nine turnovers.

Drexel guard Chris Fouch, who averaged 14.9 points last season, made his first appearance this season after missing the first four games while recovering from offseason surgery on his left knee. Fouch went scoreless in the first half and finished with five points.

Samme Givens, the lone senior on the court for either team, had six points and eight rebounds for the Dragons.