Hawks can't conquer the Hilltoppers in NIT game
St. Joe's gives valiant effort in second half, but Western Kentucky pulls away in the late moments.
NEW YORK - Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli's team definitely deserves a break before the city rivalry matchups next week after playing six games in 14 days.
But now the Hawks have to sit wondering how they can bounce back mentally after another bad loss, 62-59, to Western Kentucky yesterday to finish the NIT Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden.
Temple and No. 12 Villanova will be more formidable opponents for Saint Joseph's (3-3) in the always-entertaining Big 5 games Wednesday and Saturday.
But can the Hawks compete at that level? They lost by 52 points at Gonzaga, and fell to lesser teams Western Kentucky and Farleigh Dickinson.
"I have no question about the effort," Martelli said. "Now we have to improve the mental aspect of how you play close games. That's what we're going to be. We're going to be in close games."
After trailing, 31-24, at halftime, the Hawks worked to cut into that lead. They scored off a steal to tie the game, 50-50, on DeAndre' Bembry's dunk with 6:08 left in the second half.
Bembry, who finished with a career-high 23 points and four steals, gave Saint Joseph's its first lead of the second half with a layup off another steal to make it 54-52 at 2:46. But Western Kentucky (2-3) responded with an 8-2 run, capped by T.J. Price's two free throws.
West Virginia transfer Aaron Brown, who was held under double figures for the first time this season, with five points, nailed a three-pointer for the Hawks with 6.3 seconds left to make it a one-point game.
But Price sealed it with two more free throws for the Hilltoppers, who were led by George Fant, with 17 points and 15 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards.
After wins against Vermont and LIU-Brooklyn, Saint Joseph's looked out of gas to open its Thanksgiving matchup.
The Hawks missed their first six shots of the game and had nine of their 15 turnovers in the first half.
Isaiah Miles and Javon Baumann had 13 of their combined 20 points in the second half to help SJU rally back. But missed free throws (6-for-15 in the game) and mistakes down the stretch were costly to overcome.
"I think we can be strong mentally when we focus," Bembry said. "We're a real good defensive team. This team definitely has the toughness in them, but we got to learn how to keep that the whole game."