St. Joseph's, tired of losing, picks up first Atlantic Ten win

The sense of relief was palpable in St. Joseph's locker room after its 67-64 win over Massachusetts at home on Saturday night.

"We're just tired of losing," freshman forward Daryus Quarles said.

The Hawks snapped a nine-game losing streak, picked up their first Atlantic Ten victory, and won for the first time overall since a 58-48 triumph over Siena on Dec. 31.

"These kids have been beaten up," said Hawks coach Phil Martelli. "So I'm delighted for them, and I'm delighted with how they're handing it."

Martelli stressed that his team not overreact to the win.

"I told the players to enjoy the win, but the best part about it is that there is so much to work on," he said before pointing out that the Hawks allowed 18 offensive rebounds and struggled at times from the foul line against UMass.

The victory could be a sign that the Hawks are turning a corner.

"This is definitely a carryover," Quarles said. "Guys will get their confidence back."

Before hitting 6 of 6 three-pointers and scoring a career-high 25 points against UMass, Langston Galloway was mired in the worst offensive slump of his young college career.

In the previous six games before Saturday, Galloway made just two of his last 24 three-point attempts. During that span, he was averaging just 6.5 points per game.

In the freshman guard's first 14 games, he averaged 13.3 points per game and shot 40 percent from beyond the arc.

Galloway said he hopes his performance against UMass is a sign that he is returning to form.

For the third time in four games, St. Joseph's forced more turnovers than it committed against UMass.

In those four games, the Hawks turned the ball over 35 times while forcing 53 turnovers.