Nov. 29, 2011

PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's (4-2) will host Drexel (2-2) in men's basketball action on Wednesday, November 30, at Hagan Arena. Game time is 7 p.m.

Tickets are still available by calling 888-SJU-HAWK or by purchasing online. PURCHASE TICKETS

The game will be broadcast on SportsRadio 610 WIP (AM) with with Matt Martucci and Joe Lunardi calling the action. Audio and video streaming of the game will be available on SJUHawks.com. The audio stream is available free of charge while a subscription to Hawks All-Access is necessary to view the game.

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GAME NOTES

GAME NOTES: • C.J. Aiken was named the Big 5 Player of the Week after averaging 16.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in the Hawks' 1-1 week. • C.J. Aiken ranks fifth in the nation in blocks (4.2) and Carl Jones is 14th in scoring (21.3) in the first edition of the NCAA statistics released this week. • Phil Martelli is in his 17th year at Saint Joseph's and needs six wins to become the Hawks' all-time leader in career victories. He now has 304 wins while current record-holder Bill Ferguson registered 309 in 25 seasons (1928-53). • 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) • The Hawks are in the midst of a stretch that has them playing seven of eight games in Hagan Arena. This is the second home game in a row.

LAST TIME OUT: Saint Joseph's scored a decisive 65-47 win over Penn State in the home opener at Hagan Arena as Langston Galloway scored 17 points and C.J. Aiken netted 14. Saint Joseph's pitched a shutout for the first eight minutes of the first half, forcing the Nittany Lions into 0-for-17 shooting, while running up a 22-0 lead. The Hawks had taken a quick 10-0 lead, accented by a one-handed slam by Aiken at 16:56 and then increased it to 19-0 on another dunk by Aiken at 14:34. Penn State ended the drought, scoring its first basket at 11:27. The Hawks cooled off for the remainder of the half, scoring just 11 points in 13 minutes to lead, 33-10, at halftime. But the SJU defense held Penn State to 10 percent shooting (4-for-38) in the half. The Hawks stayed in control during the second half, maintaining a 20-point lead through most of the game. SJU's biggest lead of the game was 38-10, at 18:25 of the second half on a layup by Halil Kanacevic, who had four blocks on the day.

FLYING START: Saint Joseph's got off to one of the best starts in school history as it ran up a 22-0 lead on Penn State in the first seven minutes of Saturday's game. The Hawks forced the Nittany Lions into 0-for-17 shooting while PSU's first basket came at the 11:27 mark. It was the best start since December 21, 1995, when the Hawks jumped out on UC-Santa Barbara by an 18-0 score.

REUNION NIGHT: Tonight's game pits Drexel coach Bruiser Flint against his alma mater and former teammate, SJU assistant coach Geoff Arnold. Flint and Arnold were members of the Hawks' squad that captured the 1986 Atlantic 10 Championship, with Phil Martelli as an assistant coach. Arnold spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Drexel before returning to Hawk Hill in 2008-09.

CELEBRATING C.J.: Sophomore C.J. Aiken was named the Big 5 Player of the Week after averaging 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in the 1-1 week. He shot 70 percent (14-for-20) from the field and 60 percent (3-for-6) from three-point range in the two contests.

FACE THE NATION: SJU is ranked among the nation's leaders in a few categories, led by C.J. Aiken at fifth in blocked shots and Carl Jones at 14th in scoring. Here's the list of the Hawks' top rankings: • FG Pct: Team - 39th (48.6) • 3-Pt. FG Pct: Team - 14th (44.2); Langston Galloway - 32nd (48.7) • FT Pct: Team - 8th, (78.2); Carl Jones - 21st (93.3) • Blocks: Team - 7th (7.5); C.J. Aiken - 5th (4.2) • Pts Per Game: Carl Jones - 14th (21.3)

SUPER SOPHS: A pair of sophomores recorded career-best numbers in the high-scoring Iona game. Ronald Roberts notched a career-high 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting and had a tip-in that forced the second overtime. C.J. Aiken posted a personal best 19 points and tied his career-high with nine rebounds while going 8-for-12 from the field. Both players are averaging double digits in scoring this season.

DYNAMIC DUO: The backcourt combination of Carl Jones and Langston Galloway has accounted for 50 percent of the Hawks' scoring thus far (226 points) and the duo has made 69 percent of SJU's three-point field goals. This is an increase from last year when Jones and Galloway accounted for 45 percent of the Hawks' offense.

ON BOARD: Rebounding was a deficiency for the Hawks last season but they have already put up improved numbers, outrebounding their foes in three of six games. They held a 45-38 edge against Penn State and have a rebounding margin of -0.5 this year. Last season the Hawks owned a -4.2 rebounding margin.

MILESTONE ALERT: Phil Martelli and Carl Jones are each approaching career milestones. Here's the countdown: • Martelli needs 5 wins to tie the school record (309) • Jones needs 30 points to reach 1,000

BENCH STRENGTH: Ron Roberts will be making his case as one of the best "sixth" men in the league. He's come off the bench to average 11.2 ppg and has scored double figures four times, while averaging 25.7 minutes per game. Phil Martelli says, "Ron's really a starter. The three of them (Roberts, C.J. Aiken, Halil Kanacevic) are, but we can't start all three. But Ron doesn't hang his head or mope about it. He's going to get starters' minutes and he has embraced the role. The future is very bright for him. There's a lot to like about Ron, and most importantly, he's a good teammate."

LOOKING AHEAD: The Hawks go back on the road to American on Dec. 4 and upon return, will play five consecutive games at home.