Jan. 18, 2013

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team (9-6; 0-1 Big 5) will look to bounce back quickly from a tough loss at #22/19 VCU when it hosts Penn (3-13; 0-2 Big 5) in a Big 5 matchup on Saturday, January 19 at The Palestra. Game time is 5 p.m. and the contest will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

The game will be broadcast on 1210 WPHT 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

There will be no video streaming of the game on Hawks' All-Access due to the national tv broadcast, but it will be available on WATCH ESPN - WATCH ESPN

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

GAME NOTES

• Saint Joseph's is the home team tonight by way of the annual arrangement with this Big 5 game, where the teams alternate every year as hosts.

• The Hawks are coming off of a tough 92-86 overtime loss at #22/19 VCU late Thursday night. Langston Galloway had 22 points and Carl Jones scored 21, while Ronald Roberts had his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

• Saint Joseph's junior forward Halil Kanacevic will not be available for the third straight game due to a death in his family. Kanacevic's maternal uncle passed away last week and he accompanied his parents to their homeland of Montenegro. He is expected to be back for Wednesday's game.

• The Hawks are defending Big 5 co-champions, sharing the 2012 title with Temple.

• Saint Joseph's RPI is 68, ranking the Hawks seventh among Atlantic 10 teams.

LAST TIME OUT: Langston Galloway had 22 points and Ronald Roberts, Jr. tallied 14 points and 12 rebounds, but Saint Joseph's fell short in its upset bid of #22/19 VCU, 92-86, in overtime. Carl Jones added 21 points, while C.J. Aiken had 15 points and nine boards and Chris Wilson dished out a career-high nine assists. A pair of free throws from Aiken with 28 seconds to go in regulation gave Saint Joseph's a 79-75 lead before a VCU three-pointer at :14 to cut the deficit to one. Roberts then split a pair of free throws before Darius Theus hit the game-tying layup, sending the game into overtime. VCU scored the first six points of the extra frame, including a four-point play by Treveon Graham that gave the Rams an 86-80 advantage with 3:27 to play. After a basket by Galloway cut it to four with 3:10 to go, the Rams used a 6-1 stretch over 2:30 to ice the game. VCU led by as much as 12 points in the first half, but SJU cut it to 38-32 at halftime. The Rams extended it to 51-41 early in the second half, but SJU made its push, with Jones hitting four of his first five shots and holding the Rams scoreless for three minutes to cut the deficit to a single point. Daryus Quarles notched five of his nine points during the run, including a three-pointer that brought the Hawks back to within 51-50 with 12:09 to go. Trailing, 66-63, Galloway hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Hawks their first lead since the opening minutes at 69-66 with 4:45 to go. The Rams regained the lead, 72-69, and then it was a one-point game, 74-73, at 2:09. Jones drained a three to give the Hawks a 76-74 edge at 1:28 before a VCU free throw cut it to 76-75 at 1:03. After Aiken's free throws at :28, VCU scored five of the final six points of regulation to send the game to overtime.

BRIGHT SPOTS: The Hawks put up some solid numbers at VCU that could bode well for upcoming games. The team shot a season-best 62.1 percent in the second half as it fought back from a double-figure deficit. SJU also hit 54.5 percent (6-for-11) of its three-point attempts in the second half. Chris Wilson handed out a career-high nine assists and Ronald Roberts had a double-double (14 pts, 12 rebs). Langston Galloway and Carl Jones each scored 20-plus points - it was the first time that's happened since the win over Iona in December.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME: The Hawks are the designated home team in this game, in a building which has served as a second home. With the formation of the Philadelphia Big 5 in 1955, SJU began utilizing The Palestra as a home venue. Since that year, the Hawks have played at least one home game in the historic arena every season. The facility served as SJU's homecourt in 2008-09 with 13 games due to the expansion and renovation project at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, which is now Hagan Arena. Saint Joseph's, which has compiled a 331-161 record (.672) at The Palestra, will play here one more time this season - facing La Salle on February 16.

KEY TO THE CITY: The Hawks are 1-1 this year against city teams with a win over Drexel and a loss to Villanova.

BRAGGING RIGHTS: SJU is 0-1 in the Big 5 after the loss to Villanova in December. The Hawks were Big 5 co-champions last season, sharing the title with Temple, having posted a 3-1 record. Saint Joseph's has won a total of 20 Big 5 titles (9 outright/11 shared), which is third all-time to Temple's 26 titles (6/20 shared). Remaining City Series games for SJU are Temple on Feb. 2 at Hagan Arena and La Salle on Feb. 16 at The Palestra.

FIGHTING THEM OFF: Saint Joseph's never trailed at Duquesne and fought off all of the Dukes' comeback attempts. The Hawks led by as much as 11 points in the first half, and in the second half, Duquesne tied it once and came within one to two points on four occasions. But SJU answered each time, with key baskets from Papa Ndao, Ronald Roberts and Langston Galloway when the Dukes came within a point or two.

BLOCK PARTY: C.J. Aiken has upped his number of blocked shots per game recently, averaging 4.0 per game in the past five contests. Aiken posted a season-high six in the win at Drexel and then bettered that with seven at Duquesne. Overall, he is averaging 3.3 on the season to rank eighth in the nation and lead the A-10.

ON FIRE: Sophomore Chris Wilson led the Hawks to a blazing start versus Butler as he started the game making four straight three-pointers. Langston Galloway chipped in with one to give SJU a 15-9 lead in the first four minutes. Wilson ended the game with a career-high five three's on 5-for-7 shooting. Entering that contest, Wilson was shooting just 7-for-30 from beyond the arc.

AND ONE: Ronald Roberts had three conventional three-point plays against Butler and went 4-for-5 from the foul line. The junior has improved his free-throw shooting and is converting 64.6 percent on the year, up from 55.3 percent last season. NO REST FOR THE WEARY: The Hawks had a quick turnaround for tonight's game as the VCU contest on Thursday started at 9 p.m. and with the overtime, didn't finish until after 11 p.m. SJU bused back to Philly arriving on campus at 4 a.m. on Friday and held practice later that day at 3:30 p.m.

GOOD TO GO: Sophomore Evan Maschmeyer saw his first minutes of the year at VCU, after missing the season thus far due to a fracture in his right hand. Maschmeyer was cleared to play on Jan. 5 after suffering the injury in practice during the week of Nov. 5.

RON'S REBOUNDS: Ronald Roberts ranks second in the Atlantic 10 with 8.7 rebounds per game and leads the league in offensive rebounds, with an average of 3.8.

START IT UP: Carl Jones has now started 11 consecutive games after missing the first two and coming off the bench in two. As a starter, Jones is averaging 14.7 points per game. Backcourt mate Langston Galloway is averaging a team-high 16.4 points when Jones starts.

LOOKING AHEAD: Saint Joseph's is in the midst of playing three straight games in Philadelphia and will host St. Bonaventure (Jan. 23) and Xavier (Jan. 26) at Hagan Arena.