Dec. 30, 2012

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team will visit city rival Drexel (4-7) on New Year's Eve in a 4 p.m. game at the DAC. The game will be televised locally on The Comcast Network.

The game will be broadcast on SportsRadio 610 WIP with Matt Martucci and Joe Lunardi calling the action. Audio streaming of the game will be available on SJUHawks.com free of charge. LISTEN LIVE

Fans can also access the broadcast on their mobile devices by going to IRadioPhilly.com.

Game Notes- Drexel

• The Hawks snapped a two-game losing streak with the 96-91 win over Iona. Carl Jones scored a season-high 32 points while Langston Galloway added 23 and C.J. Aiken had a career-high 22.

• Evan Maschmeyer has been cleared to play after missing the entire season with a fractured hand. Halil Kanacevic is also returning after a two-game suspension. Isaiah Miles is questionable due to a sprained ankle.

• This is the last of three consecutive games in Philadelphia and the Hawks will travel to Morgan State on January 5. Conference play begins on January 9 against Butler at Hagan Arena.

AST TIME OUT: Carl Jones scored a season-high 32 points as Saint Joseph's defeated Iona, 96-91. Langston Galloway added 23 points and C.J. Aiken scored a career-high 22 points to go along with nine rebounds and four blocks as the Hawks ended a two-game losing streak. Jones scored 17 points in the first half, hitting 6-of-10 from the field. He finished the game going 12-for-19 from the field, while converting 4-of-7 from three-point range and adding four steals. With Saint Joseph's leading 90-84, Iona scored four straight and came within 90-88. But Aiken, who was 8-for-9 from the foul line, converted a pair with 37 seconds left to push the Hawks' lead back up to 92-88. Galloway hit two more to give the Hawks a 94-88 advantage, but Iona answered with a three to cut the deficit to 94-91 at :17. Aiken sealed the win for Saint Joseph's with two more free throws at :16. Iona jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the first four minutes. SJU outscored the Gaels, 15-8, to take its first lead, 21-19, with five straight points from Galloway. After a few more lead changes and ties, Iona ran off six straight to go up,36-30, at 7:02. SJU then used a 9-2 run, with four points from Aiken, to take a 39-38 lead at 4:42. Iona owned a 47-45 lead at halftime.

THEY'RE BACK: Sophomore Evan Maschmeyer has been cleared to play after missing the entire season thus far with a fracture in his right hand suffered in practice the week of Nov. 5. Halil Kanacevic is now eligible to return to action after serving a two-game suspension.

FOR STARTERS: The Hawks have used three different starting lineups due to injuries and other reasons. Here are the lineups and the number of games for each: Aiken, Roberts, Kanacevic, Galloway, Wilson - 4 Aiken, Roberts, Kanacevic, Galloway, Jones - 3 Aiken, Roberts, Galloway, Wilson, Jones - 3

BOUNCING BACK: Carl Jones rebounded from a three-point performance against Fairfield, where he went 0-for-7 from the field, to score a season-high 32 points in the win over Iona. It was six points short of his career-high 38 that he registered last season against Seton Hall. Jones scored 17 points in the first half and finished the game going 12-for-19 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range. The senior also tied his career-high with four steals and handed out four assists.

FROM THE LINE: The Hawks shot 70.4 percent from the foul line against Iona, including an 81.8 percent effort in the first half. C.J. Aiken led the way going 8-for-9, and went 4-for-4 in the final 37 seconds to ice the win.

HIGH-SCORING HAWKS: Saint Joseph's scored 96 points in the win over Iona, which was the most points in regulation for the Hawks since a 98-91 win at UMass on January 9, 2008.

NEW YEAR'S EVE DATE: The Hawks and New Year's Eve have almost become an annual tradition. This will be Saint Joseph's ninth game on New Year's Eve in the last 12 years. In the program's history, the Hawks are 4-6 on the final day of the year and 4-5 under Phil Martelli. Here's the rundown: • 2011: at #24/23 Harvard, L 74-69 • 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

KEY TO THE CITY: The Hawks are 0-1 this year against city teams, having lost to Villanova. SJU went 4-2 last season, going 3-1 in the Big 5, defeating Drexel and losing to Temple in the non-Big 5 game.

MAGIC NUMBERS: Carl Jones became the 16th Hawk to surpass 1,500 points for his career and now has 1,531. The senior also now has 172 career three-pointers to move up to 10th place on SJU's all-time list.

C.J.'S COUNT: C.J. Aiken scored a career-high 22 points in the win over Iona. He also had nine rebounds and blocked four shots.

LOOKING AHEAD: SJU travels to Morgan State on Jan. 5 before opening up the conference season at home against Butler on Jan. 9.