KINGSTON, RI (2/28/04) - Junior
Delonte West nailed a three-pointer to put #2 Saint Joseph's (26-0, 15-0 A-10) on top with 57 seconds left to help the Hawks escape the Ryan Center with a 57-55 victory over Rhode Island (17-12, 6-9). With the win, SJU matched an Atlantic 10 Conference record with its 26th straight victory to start the season.
SJU matched the 26-0 start by the 1995-96 Massachusetts squad that eventually reached the Final Four. The Hawks have one regular season game left against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, March 2, at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. Tuesday's game time has been changed to 9:00 p.m. and be televised both regionally on the Atlantic 10 Television network and nationally on ESPN2. It will be seen in Philadelphia on Comcast SportsNet.
URI gave the Hawks a hard time at the Fieldhouse several weeks back and this win did not come easy. In front of a capacity crowd, Rhode Island held a 55-53 lead after Dustin Hellenga made 1-of-2 at the line with 1:22 left.
On the ensuing possession, SJU worked the ball around the perimeter before West took a pass from Pat Carroll and drilled a three-pointer from the right of the arc to put the Hawks on top for good.
After the Rams' Dawan Robinson, a Philadelphia native, missed a pair of shots, West made one of two free throws with 19 seconds left to put the Hawks up by two. A 90-percent shooter, West missed two free throws on the day to see his school-record streak come to an end at 37.
Rhode Island had one final chance, but Robinson's runner in the lane was short with four seconds to go. The rebound came out to the Rams' Steve Mello. Mello's hurried three was off the mark as time expired.
"I was prouder of our last two possessions than any others in the game. We stood tall and rebounded the last two possessions," said Hawk coach Phil Martelli.
"We ran the play exactly like Coach diagramed," said West. "(Assistant) Coach (Matt) Brady pulled Pat Carroll and I aside before we went back out and told us that one of us would be open on that play."
Jameer Nelson scored 21 points and West added 19 for SJU. West
The perimeter-oriented Hawks struggled for 40 minutes for the first time this year, hitting a season-low 35.8 percent in the game.
No team has entered the NCAA Tournament with an unbeaten record since Nevada-Las Vegas in 1991.
Tuesday's home game will be Senior Night and SJU will recognize Jameer Nelson, Tyrone Barley, Robert Hartshorn and Brian Jesiolowski in pre-game ceremonies.
