The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team (7-2) will look to extend its winning streak to four when it hosts Illinois State (5-6) on Saturday in a first-time meeting between the schools. Game time at Hagan Arena is 2 p.m.

The game will air in Philadelphia on WPHL-17 with Saint Joseph's production of the game. Matt Martucci and Joe Lunardi will call the action. It will also be available on the A-10 Network. WATCH

Tickets are available with special holiday prices. PURCHASE

ARENA: Michael J. Hagan '85 Arena (4,200)
TELEVISION: WPHL-17 (Matt Martucci, Joe Lunardi)
RADIO: 990 AM (Steve Wanczyk, Jack Scheuer)
AUDIO STREAMING: SJUHawks.com  LISTEN
SERIES RECORD:  First meeting
SJU STREAK: 3 wins
HAWKS' NEXT GAME: Dec. 22 vs. Virginia Tech (Barclays Center), 1 p.m., ESPN3

GAME NOTES
• DeAndre' Bembry was named the A-10 Co-Player of the Week and the Big 5 Player of the Week after he recorded a pair of double-doubles last week.
 • Isaiah Miles is posting career-best numbers of 15.4 points per game and 8.0 rebounds. He is shooting 90 percent from the foul line, a number which ranks 22nd in the NCAA stats.
• DeAndre' Bembry ranks 13th in the nation in minutes played - he was the NCAA's leader last season.
• The Hawks lead the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage defense, holding their foes to 37.9 percent.
• SJU is producing today's game for broadcast on local station WPHL-17.
• Saint Joseph's heads to the Barclays Center on Tuesday for an afternoon matchup with Virginia Tech in the ACC/A-10 Doubleheader. Fordham and Boston College will meet in the second game.

LAST TIME OUT: Freshman Lamarr Kimble hit a three-pointer with 2:13 to go in overtime to lift Saint Joseph's to a 66-65 win over Temple in a Big 5 game at the Liacouras Center. Kimble's three gave the Hawks a 66-64 lead while Temple hit one free throw at 1:04 and missed its final three-pointer attempt as time expired. DeAndre' Bembry had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Isaiah Miles posted 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for the Hawks. Aaron Brown added 11 points and a career-high nine rebounds while Kimble scored a career-high 11 points. The win snapped a five-game losing streak at Temple for SJU and was the first win there since January of 2008. In a close contest that saw 10 lead changes and nine ties, the teams were tied 54-54 with 3:31 to go in regulation. The Hawks scored four straight, from Miles and Bembry, to go up 58-54, but a TU three-point play at 1:17 pulled the Owls within 58-57. Kimble connected on a three-pointer with 59 seconds to go to give SJU a 61-57 lead. Temple answered with a jumper at :50 and although Kimble turned it over on the next possession, Bembry came up with an immediate steal, and was fouled but missed a pair of free throws at :26. Temple's Quenten DeCosey dunked in the tying points with 12 seconds to go to send the game into the extra period. Leading 34-32 at halftime, Saint Joseph's opened the second half with an 11-4 run. Brown was the catalyst, scoring eight of the Hawks' points as SJU claimed a 45-36 lead, its largest of the game. Temple chipped away with its own 13-4 run to tie the game, 49-49, with 6:22 remaining. From there the teams would trade leads three more times until Saint Joseph's took the 56-54 lead on a pair of free throws by Miles at 2:22.

BEMBRY'S BIG WEEK: DeAndre' Bembry earned Player of the Week honors from both the A-10 (co-) and the Big 5 on Dec. 14. It marked the first A-10 honor of the season for him, and the fourth of his career, and the second of the year and fourth of his career in the Big 5. He averaged 22.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, three assists and three steals in the Hawks' two wins, while shooting 56.3 percent from the field. Bembry scored a season-high 27 points to go along with 10 rebounds and four steals in the win over Princeton, while converting 11-for-17 from the field. He followed that with 17 points and a season-high 13 rebounds in the overtime win over Temple. He also had had two steals, both of which came at crucial times in regulation and overtime after SJU turnovers.   

EYE ON ISAIAH: Senior Isaiah Miles is in the midst of a career-best season and has been a key to the Hawks' success. He's tied his career-high in points (24) this year and surpassed it in rebounds (15). Miles owns three double-doubles on the season and has scored double figures in all nine games. Miles earned All-Tournament honors at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, as he averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in the two games while connecting on 51.7 percent (15-for-29) from the field.

BOOK ON BEMBRY: DeAndre' Bembry continues to reaffirm his status as one of the best players in the A-10 and the nation. He's now moved into the team lead in scoring with 15.9 ppg, while also leading SJU in assists (4.2) and steals (1.7). He ranks second in rebounding with 7.8 per game. Here's a look at some of his top performances thus far: 
    • Drexel (W): 23 pts, 11 free throws made
    • Old Dominion (W): 15 pts, 10 rebs
    • Columbia (W): 12 pts, 9 rebs, 8 asts
    • Princeton (W): season-high 27 pts, 10 rebs, 4 steals
    • Temple (W): 17 pts, 13 rebs, 3 asts

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU: Senior Aaron Brown had a career game at Columbia, scoring 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting, while hitting 3-of-4 three-pointers. He came close to his first career double-double when he had a personal best nine rebounds to go along with 11 points at Temple. Brown, who is averaging 10.6 ppg, made the fourth start of his SJU career against Drexel and responded with 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting, and followed that with 14 vs. Niagara. Brown served primarily as the Hawks' “sixth man” last season and was the team's third leading scorer with 10.5 points per game.

TO THE POINT: Sophomore point guard Shavar Newkirk earned a starting role this year and has responded with career-best numbers. Against 8th-ranked Villanova, Newkirk bettered his career-high with 13 points and handed out a personal-best nine assists. More impressively, he went without a turnover in 31 minutes of action. Newkirk was the hero in the win over Old Dominion as he hit the game-winning jumper with one second left. The sophomore is averaging 2.7 assists and only 1.0 turnover per game while playing 23.2 minutes per game.

THE TIME IS NDAO: Papa Ndao saw his first game action at Columbia since March 20, 2014, when the Hawks faced Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament. The senior sat out the entire 2014-15 season with a medical condition and then suffered a fractured finger during the preseason which caused him to miss the Hawks' first six games. Ndao made an impact at Columbia as he connected on three three-pointers in nine minutes of action in the second half as SJU held onto the 80-78 win. He had five points and four rebounds in his return to Hagan Arena vs. Princeton.

HIGH-SCORING HAWKS: SJU has scored 70-plus points in six of nine games to average 72.6 per game. The high was 89 points against Buffalo while the single-half high is 52 points in the second half at Columbia. That's quite a change from last year when SJU struggled to score (61.7 ppg). The 2014-15 Hawks surpassed the 70-point mark only six times in 31 games and scored less than 60 points on 11 occasions.

FLYING START: This is the quickest that the Hawks have achieved seven wins since the 2003-04 undefeated season.