Men's Basketball 12/28/2015 12:00:00 AM SJU Athletic Communications

Men's Basketball Hosts Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday

The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team (9-2) returns to action after a break for the holiday to host Maryland Eastern Shore (3-10) on Tuesday, December 29. Game time is 7 p.m. at Hagan Arena.

ARENA: Michael J. Hagan '85 Arena (4,200)
TELEVISION: None
RADIO 990 AM (Matt Martucci, Joe Lunardi)
VIDEO/AUDIO STREAMING: A-10 Network/SJUHawks.com
SJU STREAK: 5 wins
HAWKS' NEXT GAME: January 2 at Richmond, 12:30 p.m., NBCSN

GAME NOTES
• Isaiah Miles had a career game with 36 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in SJU's 79-62 win over Virginia Tech on Dec. 19. DeAndre' Bembry scored 22 points as the duo accounted for 73 percent of Saint Joseph's points in the win.
• Isaiah Miles was named the Player of the Week in both the Atlantic 10 and the Big 5. It marked the first time in his career that he received weekly honors.
• SJU is in the midst of its longest winning streak (5) since a six-game streak in February 2014.
• DeAndre' Bembry ranks in the top 16 in the Atlantic 10 in eight statistical categories, while leading the league in defensive rebounds (6.8).
• Isaiah Miles is posting career-best numbers of 17.4 points per game and 8.2 rebounds. He is shooting 91.5 percent from the foul line, a number which is the 12th best in the nation.
• This is the final game before the Hawks start the A-10 season on Jan. 2 at Richmond. SJU will have one more non-conference game when it plays Big 5 rival Penn on Jan. 20.

30 FOR 30: Isaiah Miles scored a career-high 36 points on 11-for-18 shooting in the Hawks' win over Virginia Tech before Christmas. It was the first 30-plus point scoring effort by a Hawk since DeAndre' Bembry tallied 33 at Massachusetts on Feb. 26, 2015. Miles has reached double-digits in scoring in all 11 games this season and has posted four double-doubles as well.

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 averaging 16.5 points, 7.8 rebounds. 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals. 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
   • Illinois State (W): 16 pts, 9 rebs, 7 asts, 4-of-6 3FG
   • Virginia Tech (W): 22 pts, 7 rebs

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 surpassed his career-high in points (36) this year and established a new one in rebounds (15) and then reached it a second time. Miles owns four double-doubles on the season and has scored double figures in all 11 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.

DEE-FENSE: The Hawks' defense has been a big part of the 9-2 record. SJU is leading the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage defense (38.3) and ranks second in three-point field goal percentage defense (28.5).

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. He tied his career-high with 13 points in the win over Illinois State. The sophomore is averaging 2.9 assists and only 1.3 turnovers per
game while playing 23.8 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 eight of 11 games to average 73.7 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 nine wins since the 2003-04 undefeated season. The current five-game winning streak is the longest since a six-game streak in February 2014 during the Hawks' A-10 championship season.

BEYOND THE ARC: The Hawks have not excelled at the three-point shot this year but the lid seemed to come off the basket against Illinois State. SJU connected on a season-high 15 threes on 33 attempts, which was also the most this year. DeAndre' Bembry led the way with his best effort of the year, going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.