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Dec. 30, 2011
PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's (10-3) will take its five-game winning streak on the road when it visits #24/23 Harvard (11-1) on New Year's Eve at Lavietes Pavilion. Game time is 4 p.m. and the broadcast can be heard on SportsRadio 610 WIP. Audio streaming of the game will be available on SJUHawks.com free of charge. LISTEN LIVE GAME NOTES: • Phil Martelli became Saint Joseph's all-time leader in career victories with the win over Morgan State on Wednesday night. He now has 310, surpassing the mark of 309 set by Bill Ferguson in 25 seasons (1928-53). • The Hawks received three votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll for this week, marking the third straight week they have gotten votes. It is the first time since 2007-08 that SJU has received votes in one of the weekly rankings. • Saint Joseph's has won five in a row and seven of the last eight - it is the longest winning streak since a seven-game streak in 2008-09. • C.J. Aiken dropped to a tie for second in the nation in blocked shots with his 4.3 average, but the Hawks moved up to second in the ranks (8.77) by way of their record-setting 17 blocks against Morgan State. • SJU ranks 22nd in the RPI (thru Dec. 25), which is the highest in the Atlantic 10. • Saint Joseph's is again sporting one of the youngest teams in the nation, with no seniors, two juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen. (More on page 6) LAST TIME OUT: Saint Joseph's defeated Morgan State, 81-50, at Hagan Arena as SJU head coach Phil Martelli became the Hawks' all-time leader in career victories with 310, breaking the mark of 309 previously held by Bill Ferguson (1928 to 1953). Carl Jones had 16 points to lead four Hawks in double figures as Saint Joseph's won its fifth in a row to improve to 10-3. Ronald Roberts scored 15, and Langston Galloway and Chris Wilson had 10 points apiece. Forward Halil Kanacevic recorded a career-high 12 assists, just two shy of the SJU record, a career-high seven blocks, and eight rebounds, without scoring a point. Saint Joseph's also set a new school record with 17 blocked shots, breaking the mark of 16 that was established earlier this year against Drexel (Nov. 30). The Hawks broke an 8-8 tie in the early going with a 10-2 run, with back-to-back dunks by C.J. Aiken off Kanacevic passes. SJU didn't look back and took a 44-26 halftime lead as Jones hit a three pointer as the shot clock and game clock expired. SJU scored the first seven points of the second half and pushed the margin to 25 at 51-26 at 16:58. Roberts then tallied six straight points to give the Hawks a 72-40 lead, which was the biggest of the game and of the season for SJU. The Hawks shot 51.6 percent in the game, while holding Morgan State to 25.4 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three-point range.
KING OF HAWK HILL: Phil Martelli is now the Hawks' all-time leader in career victories with his 17-year mark of 310-212. He set the record with the win over Morgan State on December 28, breaking the mark of 309 held by Bill Ferguson (1928-53). The coach, now in his 17th season, will be on top of the list of a distinguished group of coaches who comprise the strong tradition of SJU basketball. SJU COACHES BY VICTORIES COACH YRS W L 1. Phil Martelli 17 310 212 2. Bill Ferguson 25 309 208 3. Jack Ramsay 11 234 72 4. Jim Boyle 9 151 114 5. Jack McKinney 8 144 77 NEW YEAR'S EVE DATE: The Hawks and New Year's Eve have almost become an annual tradition. This will be Saint Joseph's eighth game on New Year's Eve in the last 11 years. In the program's history, the Hawks are 4-5 on the final day of the year and 4-4 under Phil Martelli. Here's the rundown: • 2010: vs. Siena, W 58-48 • 2008: vs. Drexel, L 64-52 • 2007: vs. Drexel, W 69-51 • 2005: at Gonzaga, L 102-94 • 2004: at Ohio State, L 72-61 • 2002: at Gonzaga, W 79-78 (OT) • 2001: Gonzaga, L 83-80 • 1996: at Wisconsin-Green Bay, W 64-59 • 1961: Seton Hall at ECAC Holiday Festival (N.Y.), L 91-83 QUICK START: The Hawks won their ninth game on Dec. 21st - last season it took until March 5th for SJU to reach that number. Saint Joseph's won two games in the A-10 Tournament to finish with an 11-22 mark. HAWKS VS. THE POLLS: Harvard will be the second ranked team faced by the Hawks this season. On December 10th, SJU upset #19/17 Creighton, 80-71, for the Hawks' first win over a Top 25 team since March 14, 2008. FACE THE NATION: C.J. Aiken has been the nation's leader in blocked shots for the four weeks but saw his average dip slightly to 4.3, which now ranks him second in the unofficial NCAA rankings. DOING IT ALL: Forward Halil Kanacevic had one of the more unique stat lines against Morgan State. He had no points, eight rebounds and career-highs of 12 assists and seven blocks. Phil Martelli called Kanacevic the "best player on the court" that night and said, "I'm not into labels but if you want to see a point forward, that's him." The sophomore's performance followed a solid all-around game against Coppin State as he had eight assists, eight rebounds and four blocks. Kanacevic is the team's top rebounder (6.3) and ranks third on the team in assists (3.23). STREAKIN': SJU's current five-game winning streak is the longest since it won seven in a row in 2008-09. JONES'-IN: Carl Jones is averaging a team-high 18.5 points and has scored in double figures in all but one game. He now ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring. PRIME-TIME PLAYER: A clip of three C.J. Aiken dunks against Villanova were ranked third in ESPN's "Top 10 Plays" for Dec. 18. Ronald Roberts' amazing dunk against Creighton was ranked number four among the top 10 plays on Dec. 11. FLYING START: This is the Hawks' best record through 13 games since the 2007-08 team went 9-4. That squad finished with a 21-13 record and earned an NCAA At-Large bid. ROAD TRIP: This is Saint Joseph's first game on the road since a loss at American on December 4. HIGH-SCORING HAWKS: Saint Joseph's has scored 80-plus points in three of the last four games. Last season, SJU only reached that plateau once when it scored 93 points in an overtime win over Duquesne. LOOKING AHEAD: SJU opens Atlantic 10 play on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at Duquesne. The Hawks return home to host Charlotte on Jan. 7. |
