DeAndre' Bembry had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead five players in double figures as Saint Joseph's (14-3; 4-1 A-10) defeated Fordham, 80-55, to post its third consecutive win and 10th in the past 11 games.
Bembry connected on 11-for-17 from the field and handed out three assists as the Hawks recorded their largest winning margin of the year. It was also his second straight double-double and fifth of the season.
Aaron Brown added 12 points and six rebounds, James Demery scored 11 points off the bench and Lamarr Kimble and Isaiah Miles added 10 points apiece.
Chris Sengfelder and Jon Severe scored 13 points apiece for Fordham (10-6; 1-4 A-10) while Ryan Rhoomes added 10 points.
Saint Joseph's was in control from the start, up by 10 (14-4) in the first seven minutes. Fordham cut it to 26-20 with 6:45 to play but Bembry, who had 14 points in the half on 6-of-9 shooting scored eight points in a 12-6 Hawks' run that gave them a 38-26 lead at halftime.
Both teams shot 45 percent in the first half, but the Hawks opened it up in the second, hitting 51.7 percent from the field.
The Hawks opened up a 20-point lead, 48-28, on a dunk by Bembry with the feed from Lamarr Kimble. Saint Joseph's expanded on that with a 13-3 run, with five from Demery, to take a 61-31 with 8:50 left. SJU's biggest lead of the game came with 3:36 to play when Brendan Casper hit his first three-pointer of the season.
"The defensive performance was at a very high level with the recognition of what they were going to do. The players responded in a very positive fashion," said SJU head coach Phil Martelli. "In the first half, I thought there were empty possessions; we had a missed dunk and we were 7-for-13 from the foul line. In the second half, they had about four points in the first 10 minutes of the half. So, I'm really pleased defensively and in different spots with different guys."
"I thought the two point guards really handled their team well - Shavar and Fresh (Kimble) - and we're a step in the right direction. I'm appreciative of the great fan support," continued Martelli. "I think that there's a lot in this group. The thing that I like the most, that I think is growing, is team confidence. They're going to get through it. They're going to give you a little bit more."
Among the highlights of the afternoon was the more than 35 former Saint Joseph's players in attendance.
"DeAndre' plays like an old guy. He could play with any one of those guys. He's a throwback throwback. I actually thought the way they played and where we were going to put him on the floor, I thought today he would get double-digit assists," said Martelli. "But he had flow to his game with the back-cuts. He had one crazy shot in the second half. Even the play where he didn't even catch the ball and put the ball in the basket. He's gifted. They could've called him out for playing in the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, because he has an old-school game.
"It's important for our guys to play in front of the former players, because really, we've built this on the back of our former players, and we don't want to let them down. So the players did a really good job of zeroing in on the task at hand," said the coach.
Saint Joseph's takea a break from conference play this week when it visits Penn on Wednesday, January 20 in a Big 5 Doubleheader at The Palestra, which will help mark the 60th anniversary of the Big 5. It is the second game of the night and will follow the Temple vs. La Salle game at 7 p.m."
