The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team (12-3; 2-10 A-10) will head on the road to visit George Mason (6-10; 0-3) on Wednesday evening at the EagleBank Arena. Game time is 7 p.m.
The game will be available for viewing only on the A-10 Network with a subscription. WATCH
The Saint Joseph's Sports Network team of Matt Martucci and Joe Lunardi will call the action on SJUHawks.com, with that stream available free of charge. LISTEN
Virginia and D.C. area alumni and friends are invited to pregame reception at Brion's Grille. Info/RSVP
ARENA: EagleBank Arena (10,000)
TELEVISION: None
RADIO: None
VIDEO STREAMING: A-10 Network
AUDIO STREAMING: SJUHawks.com (Matt Martucci, Joe Lunardi)
SJU STREAK: 1 win
HAWKS' NEXT GAME: January 16 vs. Fordham, 1 p.m., WPHL-17
GAME NOTES
• Saint Joseph's bounced back from its first loss in eight games to defeat Rhode Island, 72-67, on Saturday afternoon. DeAndre' Bembry led the way with 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Aaron Brown scored 19 points on 4-for-4 three-point shooting. Isaiah Miles added 10 points in the win.
• DeAndre' Bembry was named to the Mid-Season Watch List for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award.
• Isaiah Miles' current free-throw shooting percentage of .892 matches the SJU record held by Delonte West.
• The Hawks are one win away from matching the number of victories (13) achieved in the entire 2014-15 season.
• Saint Joseph's RPI is 32, the second best in the A-10 behind Dayton (18).
• After this game, SJU will start a stretch of four consecutive games in Philadelphia.
HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW: DeAndre' Bembry showed up to the Rhode Island game without his trademark hairstyle - due to a barber's error. But Bembry's game was still the same as he led the Hawks to the 72-67 victory. The junior scored a game-high 22 points, while leading the team with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
SEALING THE WIN: After poor second-half free-throw shooting doomed the Hawks against VCU, Saint Joseph's turned it around to seal the win over Rhode Island. Holding a 65-58 lead with 2:22 to play, the Hawks shot 7-for-8 from the line in the final 1:43 to secure the 72-67 victory. Shavar Newkirk was 4-for-4 during that stretch. Against VCU, Saint Joseph's missed 10 free throws in the second half and lost an 11-point lead.
ROAD WARRIORS: SJU is 3-0 on the road this year, with wins at Columbia, Temple and Richmond. The Hawks also played three neutral site games, with two in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off at Mohegan Sun Arena (Florida, ODU) and one at the Barclays Center in the ACC-Atlantic 10 doubleheader (Virginia Tech).
FLYING START: This is the quickest that the Hawks have achieved 12 wins since the undefeated season in 2003-04. The seven-game winning streak that ended with the loss to VCU on Jan. 5 was the longest since a seven-game streak in January 2009. The Hawks are just one win away from matching last season's victory total of 13.
30 for 30: Leading scorer Isaiah Miles hit for 30-plus points for the second time this season when he scored 31 against VCU. The senior shot 11-for-14 from the field and 4-for-6 from the foul line. On Dec. 22 vs. Virginia Tech, Miles established a new personal best with 36 points. Prior to this year, Miles' career-high was 24 points.
MOVING ON UP: DeAndre' Bembry now has 1,214 career points and surpassed current assistant coach Mark Bass (1,205) on the Hawks' all-time list (35th). Next up is Delonte West in 34th place with 1,235 points.
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 17.7 points, 7.7 rebounds. 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals.
EYE ON ISAIAH: Senior Isaiah Miles is undoubtedly one of the most improved players in the A-10 and possibly the nation. He is in the midst of a career-best season and has been a key to the Hawks' success. Miles surpassed his career-high in points (36) this year and has continued to increase his personal best in rebounds (16). Miles owns five double-doubles on the season and has scored double figures in all 15 games, while hitting 30-plus points twice. Here's a comparison of his numbers from last year to this year:
Scoring 10.7 - 17.7
Rebounding 5.1 - 8.3
Blocks 0.4 - 1.5
FG Pct. .389 - .523
3FG Pct. .353 - .406
FT Pct .746 - .892
DYNAMIC DUO: The duo of DeAndre' Bembry and Isaiah Miles has been an offensive force for the Hawks. The pair has combined to score 46 percent (517) of Saint Joseph's total points (1,120) this year. Bembry and Miles have also accounted for 29 pecent of the team's rebounds (239) and 43 percent of SJU's three-point field goals (54).
ON THE LINE: SJU has improved its free-throw shooting from last year, converting 70.3percent as compared to 61.5 percent in 2014-15. Although the Hawks have shot 70 percent or better from the line in 10 of 15 games, including a recent 19-for-25 performance vs. Virginia Tech, the inconsistency has still surfaced at inopportune times. SJU shot just 58.6 percent vs. VCU, with 10 misses in the second half, to aid the loss.
LOOKING AHEAD: SJU returns home to host Fordham on Saturday to being a stretch of four straight games in Philadelphia. After the Fordham game, the Hawks will make local trips to Penn and La Salle, and then return to host Massachusetts on Jan. 27. The non-conference game vs. Penn on Jan. 20 is a doubleheader at The Palestra and will mark the 60th anniversary of the Big 5.
