The Saint Joseph's men's basketball team (21-4; 10-2 A-10) will face #15/13 Dayton (21-3; 11-1) in a key Atlantic 10 matchup on Wednesday, February 17 at Hagan Arena. Game time is 6 p.m. with the national broadcast on the CBS Sports Network. With a win, the Hawks can gain a share of first place in the Atlantic 10.

There are a limited number of student tickets available for purchase at the Box Office in Hagan Arena. There will also be a student tailgate beginning at 4:30 p.m. on the terrace outside of the Ramsay Basketball Center.

ARENA: Michael J. Hagan '85 Arena (4,200)
TELEVISION: CBS Sports Network (Ben Holden, Steve Smith, Jon Rothstein)
RADIO: None
VIDEO STREAMING: None
AUDIO STREAMING: SJUHawks.com (Matt Martucci, Joe Lunardi)
SJU STREAK: 3 wins
HAWKS' NEXT GAME: February 20 at Davidson, 2 p.m., NBCSN

GAME NOTES
• Saint Joseph's scored an 88-62 win over La Salle, giving them a 3-1 record in the Big 5. Isaiah Miles, who was named the Big 5 Player of the Week, had 19 points and eight rebounds in the win. DeAndre' Bembry posted 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
• SJU owns a three-game winning streak and has won 10 of the last 11 games. This is the Hawks' best record through 25 games since the 2003-04 team went undefeated (27-0).
• SJU owns the nation's best road record (9-0) as the only unbeaten team.
• This marks the ninth 20-plus win season under Phil Martelli, who now has 396 career wins.
• Saint Joseph's RPI is 28, which is the second best in the Atlantic 10 behind Dayton (12).
• The Hawks' turnaround from last season has them ranked as the fifth most improved team in the nation from last year. They are at plus-10 wins from this time last season.

AST TIME OUT: Isaiah Miles scored a game-high 19 points to lead four players in double figures as Saint Joseph's defeated La Salle, 88-62, in an Atlantic 10 and Big 5 game at Hagan Arena. Miles grabbed eight rebounds for SJU while James Demery made 7-of-9 shots to tie his career-high with 17 points off the bench. DeAndre' Bembry had 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists and Aaron Brown scored 11 points for the Hawks. (more on pg. 25)

EXCLUSIVE LIST: DeAndre' Bembry is just one of two players in the nation who is averaging over 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game. The other is LSU freshman Ben Simmons (19.3 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 5.2 apg), who is considered one of the top candidates for the National Player of the Year Award. Bembry is the only player in the nation to have those numbers and average less than 2.5 turnovers per game.

CAREER MILES: Heading into this year, Isaiah Miles had just 444 career points in three seasons. He's scored 437 in this season alone to now total 881 points in 96 career games. Miles is averaging seven more points and three more rebounds than his junior season.

FLYING START: This is the quickest that the Hawks have achieved 20 wins since the undefeated season in 2003-04. They've had two seven-game winning streaks, with the most recent ending against St. Bonaventure. The Hawks, who have long surpassed last season's victory total of 13, have won 17 of the last 19 games. It is Saint Joseph's best record through 25 games since the 2003-04 team was 25-0. It is also the best A-10 mark through 12 games (10-2) since the 2003-04 team went 12-0.

HISTORY MAKERS: With the 21-4 record, the Hawks are on their way to posting one of the best seasons in school history. SJU's record through 25 games matches that of both the 1981-82 and 2000-01 teams, and is second to the 25-0 mark set by the 2003-04 squad. The 1981-82 team, which was the first season for head coach Jim Boyle, finished the year at 25-5. The 2000-01 Hawks, coached by Phil Martelli and with freshman point guard Jameer Nelson, compiled a 26-7 record. In Nelson's senior year, SJU won 27 straight games and finished the season with a best-ever 30-2 record.

20-20: This marks the ninth 20-plus win season under Phil Martelli, which is the most for any Hawk coach. Counting this one, there have been a total of 23 seasons in SJU history in which the Hawks have won 20 or more games.

HOME BODIES: The Hawks are currently 10-3 at home this year, with losses to #8 Villanova, VCU and St. Bonaventure.

ROAD WARRIORS: SJU owns the nation's best road record at 9-0, as the only unbeaten team. The Hawks have scored wins at Columbia, Temple, Richmond, George Mason, Penn, La Salle, Rhode Island, Fordham and GW. 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), so their record away from Hagan Arena is 10-1. The best road record for a Saint Joseph's team is 13-0 by the 2003-04 Elite Eight squad, while in recent years the 2013-14 A-10 champion team was 8-4 away from home.

400 CLUB: Head coach Phil Martelli is closing in on the 400-victory plateau as he enters this game with 396. He currently ranks 35th for career victories among current Division I head coaches.

GAINING NOTICE: The Hawks received a season-high 57 votes in this week's AP Poll and 17 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Jan. 4th AP poll marked the first time SJU received votes since the 2013-14 season. In that year, SJU garnered votes in the polls of Feb. 3, March 3 and March 17.

DEAN OF COACHES: Phil Martelli is the dean of A-10 coaches in his 21st season as the head coach of the Hawks with a 396-269 career record. He owns a 195-139 record in Atlantic 10 play for the most conference wins of any active coach, and the second most all-time.

HAWKS VS. THE TOP 25:  Saint Joseph's has played one ranked team thus far this year, an 86-72 loss to #8/7 Villanova in December. Over the past four years, SJU is 5-11 versus ranked teams. SJU's last win over a ranked team was on March 16, 2014, when the Hawks defeated #23 VCU to win the Atlantic 10 Championship. The last victory over a ranked team in Hagan Arena was a 73-68 win over #21 Massachusetts on Feb. 1, 2014. The highest ranked team defeated on Hawk Hill was #8 Xavier on March 6, 2008 when SJU scored a 71-66 win in the final Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse game.

ZEKE'S WEEK: Isaiah Miles was named the Big 5 Player of the Week for the third time this season on Feb. 15 as he averaged 20.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in wins over George Washington and La Salle while shooting 58.3 percent (14-24) from the field, 50 percent from three-point range (6-12) and 85.7 percent (6-7) from the foul line. His previous Big 5 honors came on Dec. 28 and Feb. 1. He also earned the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Dec. 28, marking the first conference honor of his career.  

DEE-FENSE: The Hawks' defense has been a big part of their success. SJU is leading the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage defense (39.5) and in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.9), while ranking 24th and 12th nationally, in those respective categories. At Rhode Island, SJU held the Rams to 18.8 percent (6-of-32) from the field in the first half, which was a season-best effort.

OFF THE BENCH: James Demery is a candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award in the Atlantic 10. He's scored double figures in 13 games this season while playing over 22 minutes per game. He recently matched his career-high with 17 points in the home win over La Salle. Demery is tied as the team's third leading scorer in A-10 play with 9.8 ppg and is shooting 55.4 percent from the field in conference games, a number which ranks among the top 10 in the league.

DOING IT ALL: Not many players in the nation have the all-around numbers like DeAndre' Bembry, and that's why he's one of the best players in the A-10 and is an NBA prospect. He ranks among the A-10's leaders in almost every category. Here's his ranking in each: 
    • Scoring - 12th (16.9)
    • Rebounding - 7th (8.0)
    • Assists - 6th (4.6)
    • Steals - 10th (1.4)
    • Assist/Turnover Ratio - 7th (2.1)
    • Defensive Rebounds - 2nd (6.4)
    • Minutes - 2nd (37.1)

POINTS OF EMPHASIS: In the wins over GW and Fordham, the Hawks' point-guard platoon of Shavar Newkirk and Lamarr Kimble has combined for 48 points and 11 assists. The duo keyed SJU's win at Fordham, totalling 30 points and each recording new career-highs. In Newkirk's return to New York he scored a career-high 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting (3 3-pt FG). Kimble also recorded a new personal best with 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting, while also hitting three three-point field goals. At GW, the pair had 18 points, seven assists and no turnovers. Newkirk is tied as SJU's third leading scorer in A-10 games with 9.3 ppg.

LOOKING AHEAD: Saint Joseph's goes on the road for a pair, visiting Davidson on Saturday (Feb. 20) and traveling to Massachusetts on Feb. 24 for the second meeting between the teams. The Hawks wil have two more home games this year - vs. Saint Louis on Feb. 28 and against Duquesne on March 5.