The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team will open the 2015-16 season when it hosts Drexel on Friday, November 13 at 8 p.m. at Hagan Arena.
TV: WPHL17 (Matt Martucci, Joe Lunardi)
RADIO: 990 AM WNTP (Steve Wanczyk, Jack Scheuer)
AUDIO STREAMING: SJUHawks.com - LISTEN
VIDEO STREAMING: Atlantic10.com - WATCH
SERIES RECORD: SJU leads 46-9
NEXT GAME: Nov. 15 vs. Niagara, 5 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• Junior DeAndre' Bembry leads the Hawks into this season as Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team honoree and one of the top players in the nation. He averaged an Atlantic 10-best 17.7 points per game last year and led the NCAA in minutes per game (38.6).
• Head coach Phil Martelli enters his 21st season as the head coach of the Hawks with a 375-265 career record, which is the school mark for wins.
• Saint Joseph's returns four starters from last year's squad.
• This is the sixth anniversary of the first game in Hagan Arena (Nov. 13, 2009) and Drexel was also the opponent that night. The Hawks prevailed in overtime, 77-67, on their new homecourt in front of a sellout crowd.
• The Hawks will host Niagara on Sunday in the first game of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off, and then continue play in the tournament by hosting Buffalo on November 18.
LAST TIME VS. DREXEL: The Hawks scored a 52-49 win at the Daskalaskis Center in the second game of the 2014-15 season (Nov. 17). Aaron Brown hit a driving layup to break a 47-47 tie and Isaiah Miles and Shavar Newkirk hit late free throws to help SJU earn the victory. DeAndre' Bembry had 13 points, James Demery scored 12 and Brown added 11 in the win. Both teams shot under 40 percent in the game with the Hawks hitting 35 percent and Drexel converting 34 percent.
FOR OPENERS: Saint Joseph's is 8-2 in season openers in the past 10 years, with the losses coming in 2010-11 to Western Kentucky and last season to Fairleigh Dickinson in overtime.
DEAN OF COACHES: Phil Martelli is the dean of A-10 coaches as he enters his 21st season as the head coach of the Hawks with a 375-265 career record. He owns a 185-137 record in Atlantic 10 play for the most conference wins of any active coach, and the second most all-time.
FEAR THE 'FRO: All-Conference performer DeAndre' Bembry is on numerous preseason lists that recognize him as one of the top players in the nation. He was the leading scorer in the Atlantic 10 last season with his 17.7 average and led the Hawks in practically every statistical category, including rebounding (7.7), assists (3.6), steals (1.9) and an NCAA-leading 38.6 minutes per game. The 6-6 junior also topped the league in scoring in A-10 games with his 19.0 average. Bembry became the first SJU player ever to win the conference's scoring title.
FAMILIAR FOE: Drexel and Saint Joseph's have a great familiarity with each other. Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint is a 1987 graduate of Saint Joseph's and was a teammate of Hawks' assistant coach Geoff Arnold. Phil Martelli was an assistant coach for that SJU team which won the 1986 Atlantic 10 title.
IRON MAN: DeAndre' Bembry led the nation in minutes played with 38.6 per game, while seeing 40 minutes or more of action in 14 games last season.
RACKING UP THE MILES: Senior Isaiah Miles was the team's second leading scorer last year with 10.7 points per game. He was also the Hawks' leader in long-range shots with 53 three-pointers made and a shooting percentage of 35.3 percent.
FROM THE START: Pierfrancesco Oliva becomes the third freshman in three years to own a spot in the starting lineup on opening day. DeAndre' Bembry started all 34 games as a freshman for the Hawks in 2014-15 while James Demery was in the starting lineup last season. Oliva, from Italy, starred for Bergen Catholic (N.J.) last year, averaging 15.9 points and earning All-State honors.
RARING TO GO: Redshirt freshman Markell Lodge will be making his debut after sitting out last year to concentrate on academics. A 6-8 forward from Pace Academy (N.C.), Lodge has a vertical leap of 39 inches, which is the highest in the program's history.
WELCOME TO HAWK HILL: First-year players joining the Hawks this season are: Chris Clover (St. Joseph's Prep) and Lamarr Kimble (Neumann-Goretti) - as well as Italian import Pierfrancesco Oliva (Bergen Catholic). Clover, a 6-3 guard, was the Most Valuable Player of the Philadelphia Catholic League, averaging 20.7 points to rank fifth in the city in scoring. Kimble, a 6-0 point guard, was an All-Catholic League First Team honoree after averaging 14.5 points and helping Neumann-Goretti to its second straight PIAA Class AAA championship. Oliva, a 6-8 forward from Taranto, Italy, earned All-State Third Team honors at Bergen Catholic in New Jersey while scoring 15.9 ppg. Christian Vega, a 6-0 sophomore guard, is a new addition to the team as a walk-on. He will dress only for home games.
ON THE SIDELINES: Papa Ndao's return to the court has been delayed with a fractured finger that he suffered last week in practice. Ndao sat out the entire 2014-15 season due to medical reasons, but had been cleared to play this year. Ndao, who has played in 85 career games with seven starts, is currently attending graduate school after receiving his degree in May 2015. Also on the sidelines is senior Skylar Scrivano, who has been battling an achilles injury since the summer. The 6-10 forward came to SJU last year from Rider and sat out due to the transfer rule.
