Jan. 19, 2007

PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's (10-7; 3-2 A-10) will host Xavier (13-5; 3-1) in an Atlantic 10 showdown on Sunday, Jan. 21, at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. Game time is noon and the contest will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.

The game can also be heard on WNTP Radio (990 AM) with Ken Krsolovic and Joe Lunardi calling the action. Audio streaming will also be available on wwww.sjuhawks.com.

Click here for complete game notes.

GAME NOTES: After starting the New Year with a four-game winning streak, the Hawks have now lost two in a row, matching their longest losing streak of the season. * Ahmad Nivins has averaged 23.3 points in the past three games. * The Hawks rank second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense, limiting the opponents to 62.0 points per game. * Ahmad Nivins is averaging 21.2 points in conference games, while converting 67.3 percent of his field-goal attempts. * Phil Martelli owns the most Atlantic 10 wins among active coaches with 117. His winning percentage in conference games (.650) is the highest among active coaches who have been in the league for more than one season. He also owns the longest tenure at one school of any of the league's coaches. * Phil Martelli needs three wins to surpass Hall of Famer Jack Ramsay on SJU's list for coaching victories. Ramsay totaled 234 in 11 years (234-72 from 1955 to 66) while Martelli's 12-year mark stands at 232-130.

JEKYLL AND HYDE: Just when you think the Hawks had it straightened out, some of the early season inconsistencies start popping up again. After a solid start to the conference season (3-0 record; 81.3 ppg; scoring defense of 59.3; 11 turnovers per game), the Hawks now have two consecutive losses. Against Rhode Island they scored 81 but gave up 86 points, and although limiting Fordham to 56 points, SJU scored just 55 while committing 17 turnovers.

TWO AGAINST FIVE: A rare occurence happened in the first half at Fordham as Ahmad Nivins and Pat Calathes accounted for all of the Hawks' 21 points, with Nivins notching 12 and Calathes tallying nine. Jawan Carter became the first Hawk other than the duo to reach the scoring column when he hit a 3-pointer at 18:19 of the second half. One telling statistic for the first half was that third leading scorer Rob Ferguson did not have a shot, as he was saddled with three early fouls.

3-POINTS THE HARD WAY: In the five conference games combined, Ahmad Nivins has converted a total of 10 3-point plays. The Hawks' leading scorer is taking advantage of his free throw shooting, as he is hitting 81.8 percent from the line in league games.