Hawks reopen arena with overtime victory

Aesthetically, the newly expanded and renovated Michael J. Hagan '85 Arena was much more pleasing to the eye than what took place on the court.

Yet, despite the choppy season opener between St. Joseph's and Drexel last night, the packed-in crowd was highly entertained as the Hawks overcame the Dragons, 77-67, in overtime.

Twice in the final moments of the first half, St. Joe's came back to tie the game. Garrett Williamson sent it into overtime on a pull-up jumper with 3.7 seconds remaining, and Todd O'Brien scored the go-ahead basket with 44.8 seconds to go as St. Joe's celebrated the reopening of arena with a win over a city rival.

The teams were never separated by more than five points before the Dragons caught fire from long distance in the second half. Guards Derrick Thomas, a freshman, and Jamie Harris combined for five three-point jumpers in little more than five minutes to give Drexel a 48-38 lead with 10 minutes, 35 seconds remaining.

Until Thomas and Harris zeroed in with their jump shots, Drexel had made only one three-pointer.

A three-point play by Idris Hilliard in the waning seconds of the half assured the Hawks of a 31-29 lead at the break. The junior had 13 points at the half, shooting 9 for 9 from the free-throw line.

The first 20 minutes had all the markings of opening night. Partly because of jitters, both teams struggled to find the basket and looked out of sync on offense, so it became a defensive tangle. Drexel, which missed its first 10 shots, connected on 35.3 percent in the first half while St. Joe's made 41.7 percent of its attempts.

Drexel didn't get its first field goal until Derrick Thomas drove the lane for a basket 5 minutes, 5 seconds after tip-off. But St. Joe's was having its own problems, especially with turnovers, so the Dragons found themselves down by only by one point after their initial basket.

The game was the first for St. Joe's on Hawk Hill since the end of the 2007-08 season. The Hawks played all but one of their home games at the Palestra last season.

"I love that building," coach Phil Martelli said of the Palestra, "but I do believe the back and forth took somewhat of a toll on us."

Carl Jones, a freshman guard who was originally in the starting lineup, didn't start because he missed an academic assignment on Thursday, according to a university spokeswoman.

Jones entered the game with 16:40 remaining in the half.

The opening of Hagan Arena attracted the capacity 4,200 fans as Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse was expanded by 1,000 seats. Five hundred of the new seats went to students. All 1,100 seats available to students were sold, according to St. Joseph's athletic director Don DiJulia.

Michael Hagan, whose $10 million donation made the expansion of the arena possible, drew a rousing ovation as he tossed up the ceremonial jump ball. Gov. Rendell, a frequent visitor to the Palestra to watch his alma mater, Penn, play, also was there.

The Hawks went into the game leading their series against Drexel, 43-8. But the Dragons had won two of the three previous meetings, including last year's New Year's Eve matchup.