Langston Galloway,  ’14, tied his career high with 27 points on 8-11 shooting (6-7 from three-point range).  Galloway sunk one of two free throws with four seconds left in the game to give the Hawks the advantage.  It became the winning margin once a three-pointer from 49er Derrio Green, who had hit a three with 12 seconds left to tie the game, went awry.

With the win, the Hawks clinched the 12th and final spot in next week’s Atlantic 10 Tournament. After opening the conference season with eight straight losses (nine straight when including a loss to Big-Five Rival Penn), St. Joe’s managed to finish 4-4 in its last eight games to prolong its season.  Charlotte, the only conference team to knock off A-10 champ Xavier this year, lost eight games in a row to finish the season.

Aiding the effort today was Carl Jones, ’13, who tallied 19 points and six assists.  Idris Hilliard, ’11, playing in what would have been his last college game had the Hawks lost, scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds.

Galloway has undoubtedly been the catalyst of this late-season surge.  The freshman from Baton Rouge scored 25 or more points in each of the Hawks’ four wins.  The first of these performances came against UMass in St. Joe’s first win of 2011.  Galloway tallied 25 points to lead the Hawks to a three-point win while backcourt mate and leading scorer Jones (17 ppg) sat on the bench with a sprained ankle.

With the win, the Hawks, who are the 12th and final team to make the A-10 field for the second straight year, will square off with fifth-seeded George Washington on March 8.  St. Joe’s will travel to Washington, D.C. to play the Colonials on their home floor.  In a new tournament set-up this year, all first round games are played on the home floor of the higher-seeded team.  Should the Hawks win, they would travel to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City for the remainder of the tournament.  The first match-up would be with fourth-seeded Duquesne, who earned a first-round bye.

In their only meeting this year, George Washington (17-13, 10-6 A-10) dispatched St. Joe’s 78-71 at Hagan Arena on Jan. 8.  The Colonials had five players in double figures, led by guard Tony Taylor’s 20 points.  The Hawks, meanwhile, were paced by Jones’ 23 points.  C.J. Aiken, ’14, scored 15 points, and Galloway and Hilliard dropped 10 apiece.

Tuesday’s game with George Washington will tip off at 7 p.m. It can be seen on television on CBS-College Sports.

-James Hill

A press release stated that both O’Brien and guard Patrick Swilling were to be inactive shortly before their game against Xavier on Feb. 16.  On Feb. 20, the day of the game against Temple, another press release was issued that stated Swilling was no longer enrolled in the University and that O’Brien would remain away from the team until the judicial process had been completed.

O’Brien has appeared in 19 games this season.  He averages seven minutes per game, 1.1 points per game, and 1.3 rebounds per game.

The Hawks (7-20, 2-11 A-10) return to action Saturday against St. Bonaventure (15-11, 7-6).  The game tips off at 4 p.m. at Hagan Arena.

-James Hill

The story of late has been the play of freshman Langston Galloway.  The guard has scored 25 points in each of the last two games and has been named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week in each of the last two weeks.  He led the Hawks in leading-scorer Carl Jones’ absence in a 67-64 win over UMass that snapped the Hawks’ nine-game losing streak.

He led three Hawk guards in double figures with another 25-point performance on Sunday in St. Joe’s comeback win over Fordham.  Carl Jones (15 points) and Charoy Bentley (14 points) also reached double figures for the Hawks.

Tonight’s opponent is the 18-6 Xavier Musketeers.  Xavier is led in scoring by their two guards, Tu Holloway (20.7 points per game) and Mark Lyons (13.5 points per game).  They are joined in double figures by the frontcourt tandem of Kenny Frease (11.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg) and Jamel McLean (11.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg).

Xavier’s front court figures to pose the biggest challenge for the Hawks tonight.  Frease (7’0, 270) and McLean (6’8, 245) have a distinct size advantage against Ronald Roberts, Idris Hilliard, and CJ Aiken.

We’re six minutes from the tip.  Starting line-ups soon to come.

6:59… This just in from the Athletic Communications office: Todd O’Brien and Patrick Swilling are both out for tonight’s game.  Swilling is out due to a violation of the student code of conduct. O’Brien failed to comply with the community standards.

7:05… Here are tonight’s starting line-ups.

Xavier: Tu Holloway, Mark Lyons, Dante Jackson, Jamel McLean, and Kenny Frease

St. Joe’s: Idris Hilliard, Ronald Robert, Daryus Quarles, Langston Galloway, and Carl Jones

7:14… St. Joe’s played well in the first four-minute stanza, jumping out to an 8-7 lead at the 15:42 mark after trailing 7-3 early.

Xavier went straight to the blocks early and got a quick four points from Kenny Frease.  Mark Lyons has also hit a three in the process.

The Hawks have been right there on the offensive end, however, as the shots are falling.  Given the Musketeers’ distinct advantage in the paint, St. Joe’s will need the shots to continue to fall as they have.  Threes by Jones and Quarles as well as a mid-range jumper by Hilliard give the Hawks their eight points.

7:24… You think senior Idris Hilliard wants to win this one?? The 6’7 forward has 10 of the Hawks’ 18 points including a three-pointer and a three-point play on a dunk.

Xavier is clearly just trying to take advantage of the size difference, getting the ball to Frease and McLean almost every possession.  Frease has six points early and McLean has two.

St. Joe’s is simply playing well on offense right now as the Musketeers are still looking to get comfortable in their offensive sets. XU’s leading scorer Tu Holloway has still not even taken a shot.

18-13 Hawks with 9:30 to go.

7:31… The Musekteers have closed the gap over the last few minutes, pounding the ball inside some more as they take advantage of their size.  Kenny Frease scored again and made a nice pass out of the double-team to McLean for a dunk.  Mark Lyons has also shown the ability to get to the rim and score among the Hawk bigs.

The Hawks have cooled on offense a bit, but still remain in attack mode.

This game has flown by thus far as we are already under the six-minute mark.  We have had very few whistles and only one foul called.

It’s 20-19 Hawks with 5:54 to go.

7:34… A disgusted Phil Martelli just called timeout as Lyons again sliced the Hawk defense for a layup. Lyons has nine points, including three such layups, as the Musketeers reclaim the lead at 21-20.  5:04 to play.

7:39… The Hawks reclaimed the lead with a 5-0 spurt.  Charoy Bentley drained a three from the corner and Galloway hit two free throws on a McLean technical foul for slamming the ball down.

XU’s offense has sputtered as they constantly are forcing the post and not allowing their offense to flow to leading scorer Tu Holloway.

25-21 Hawks, under four minutes to go.

7:43… In the blink of an eye, the Musketeers just exploded for a 10-0 run to claim a 31-25 lead.  Kenny Frease scored seven of the 10, and assisted on a Lyons three-pointer, to cap the run.  Just over a minute left.

7:50… Xavier closes the half on a 13-2 run.  Tu Holloway capped the run with three free throws on Langston Galloway’s third foul of the half.  (Fun fact: Holloway has made more free throws this season than anyone else in the Atlantic 10 has attempted.)

Don’t expect the referees to be eating at Larry’s after the game.  The Galloway foul, as well as a double technical foul on Carl Jones and Mark Lyons have given the Hawk faithful all they’ve needed to express their displeasure.

First half stats

SJU: Hilliard 10 pts, Quarles and Bentley with 5 pts, Galloway has 4 pts and 3 fouls, and Jones has 3 points on 1-4 shooting.

Xavier: Frease has 13 pts and 5 rebounds, Lyons has 12 pts and 5 rebounds, McLean has 6 pts, and Tu Holloway has 3 pts.

Xavier has a 17-11 edge on the boards. XU has a 9/3 assist-to-turnover ratio against SJU’s 5/4.  Xavier has shot 48% from the floor against the Hawks’ 39%.

We’ll be back shortly with the second half.

8:12… The Musketeers have started the second half on a 6-0 run by way of baskets by Lyons, Frease, and Holloway.  Going back to the under-four timeout of the first half, Xavier is on a 19-2 run to extend their lead to 40-27.

Martelli burns another SJU timeout with 16:33 to go in the game.

8:16… The Hawks showed some fight coming out of the timeout with five straight points, but Holloway responded with a three-pointer and the Musketeers are up 43-32.

Hilliard has buried another three to push his team-high point total to 13.  He is 5-6 on the night including 2-2 from three.  He has been the only performer for the Hawks tonight.

Galloway will be at the line for two out of this timeout.  He has taken it to the basket and drawn fouls on two straight possessions.  15:19 to go.

8:23… The Hawks have turned up the defensive pressure and have turned the Musketeers over three straight trips now.  Free throw shooting by Galloway and Jones have provided the recent offense.

Xavier leads 45-37 with 12:50 to go.

8:26… Not much more action in the last minute.  The teams have traded turnovers and we’re at the media timeout with 11:50 to play.  Xavier leads 45-37.

8:40… Tu Holloway has taken over this game for the Musketeers.  He is scoring from the free throw line and distributing the ball well as Xavier has taken a 57-40 lead with 7:57 to go.  Holloway has 12 points (7-7 FT shooting) and six assists.

The Hawks’ offense has gone stagnant, as some of the team’s best chances have been wasted by poor free throw shooting by Ronald Roberts.  Roberts is 1-6 from the stripe in the second half.

8:51… It’s safe to say that this one is over.  The Hawks simply didn’t have enough to hang with the size and athleticism of the Musketeers.  St. Joe’s will have the ball coming out of the final media timeout trailing X by a count of 64-47.

Ronald Roberts has shown a pulse in the last few minutes for the Hawks, making a couple plays–including a dunk and an off-balance layup–over Xavier’s Jamel McLean.  On the opposite end, however, they’ve had a few what-were-you-thinking? lapses.  One gave Mark Lyons an uncontested layup out of an inbounds.  Lyons has 22 to lead all scorers.

8:53… Another quick Martelli timeout after a nice post move and hook shot by Ronald Roberts.  XU’s Jordan Latham scored in his first minutes off the bench on the other end.  66-49 X with 2:53 to play. The Musketeers will have it coming out of the timeout; they will undoubtedly be facing some sort of pressure.

9:04… The Hawks drop this one by a count of 74-54.  Walk on Taylor Trevisan notched a career-high five points playing in the final 90 seconds of the game tonight.

Please check in next week’s issue of The Hawk for a full recap including coverage of the post-game press conference.

The problem on offense remains the same for the Hawks: there is no one who consistently scores once one’s eyes wander past Carl Jones’ name in the box score. Jones scored 21 points in Wednesday’s loss to Richmond to push his team-high scoring average to an even 18 points per game.  After that, however, the scoring drops off significantly.  Langston Galloway averages 10.8 points per game but seems to have hit the freshman fatigue wall since the year turned over.

The Hawks desperately need to solve that problem tonight. Jones has been ruled out of tonight’s game with a sprained ankle sustained in practice.  Jones prepared with the hopes of playing, but has been ruled out 45 minutes before tip.  Senior guard Charoy Bentley will start in his place.  Bentley averages 7.3 minutes per game and 1.4 points per game—a far cry from Jones’ totals.

Justin Crosgile is unavailable tonight as well as the guard is entering the second game of his leave of absence from the team for personal reasons.  His veteran presence–even though only a sophomore–will be missed tonight as he would have likely played 20+ minutes in Jones’ absence.

The strongest secondary performer of late has been Ronald Roberts, who has pushed his way in the starting lineup with a strong two weeks of play.  He scored 17 points against Temple last Saturday to earn a spot in the starting lineup against Richmond.  His athleticism has been too much for many of the Atlantic 10 opponents thus far.

The Minutemen (13-8, 5-3) have been paced by fifth-year senior guard Anthony Gurley.  Gurley is the only UMass player to average double figures with 20.3 points per game.  The Minutemen have gone 2-2 in conference play on the road, dropping games to Xavier and St. Louis while beating Charlotte and St. Bonaventure.

Hawks’ Head Coach Phil Martelli has been stuck on win 294 since the new year.  He looks to take one step closer to 300 tonight, but will need to figure out a way to slow the game down or find someone else to put up points in Jones’ absence.

7:06… We’re about to tip it off.  Here are tonight’s starters…

SJU: Idris Hilliard, Charoy Bentley, Ron Roberts, Daryus Quarles, and Langston Galloway

UMass: Anthony Gurley, Gary Correia,Javon Farrell, Terrell Vinson, and Sean Carter

The Hawks control the tip and go empty on two shots for their first possession.

7:16… The Hawks have looked anemic on offense thus far.  Luckily for them, UMass hasn’t been any better.  Daryus Quarles has all five Hawk points thus far as they trail 7-5 at the first media timeout.  St. Joe’s is having trouble creating offense.  Everyone is standing around waiting for Carl Jones to make a play.  Meanwhile, Jones is sitting on the bench in a track suit with a sprained ankle.

Another concern for the Hawks is their rebounding tonight. They’re getting the uncontested layups but that’s it.  Anything UMass goes up for, they’re getting.

We’re at the 14 minute mark now and the Hawks are down 7-6 after a Galloway free throw out of the timeout.

7:25… The Hawks are taking the air out of the ball early in the game.  They’re simply dribbling around waiting for something to happen.

St. Joe’s took a lead for about 15 seconds following a Ron Roberts three-point play.  UMass has responded with back-to-back buckets to extend their lead to 12-9.

The Hawks need to find some form of offensive threat as they inbound the ball with 10:22 to play.

7:30… Thirteen minutes into the game, one thing is brutally apparent: without Jones, not a single Hawk can take his man off the bounce.  Every shot St. Joe’s has been created by ball movement or in desperation at the end of the shot clock.

A Ron Roberts put-back and Langston Galloway three have been the recent scoring for St. Joe’s, who still trails 16-14 with 7:03 to play until half.

CJ Aiken is struggling mightily from the floor thus far.  The score would be far different if he was hitting at his normal clip.

7:39… Todd O’Brien is getting eaten alive in the post.  He’s getting knocked around, has committed two fouls due to being out of position, and air-balled an open 6-footer in the lane.

A three-pointer by Patrick Swilling and a long two by Charoy Bentley have kept the Hawks close.  The score now sits at 20-19 UMass with 2:59 to play until half.

7:43… Four straight points for Langston Galloway and a dribble-drive score for Patrick Swilling gives the Hawks a 25-23 with 41.2 seconds to play.  The scoring and a big block and rebound by O’Brien have given the home fans reason to cheer.

The Hawks have the ball coming out of their use-it-or-lose it timeout.

7:46… St. Joe’s ends the half on an 8-2 run to give the home squad a 27-23 lead at the half.  Todd O’Brien finished an open layup off of a pick-and-roll play to finish the half.

UMass star Anthony Gurley’s long three clanged off the iron as the horn sounded.  Gurley has been held in check thus far, notching four points in the first half.

Official first half stats to come shortly, so stay tuned…

8:00… The Hawks were paced by Langston Galloway’s eight points and three assists in the first half.  Quarles, Roberts and Swilling each scored five.  Yes, that’s 23 of the 27 SJU points being scored by freshmen.

UMass’s two leading scorers, Gurley and Terrell Vinson, have combined for five points on 2-10 shooting.  Center Sean Carter leads the way for them with six points.

One of the big keys for the Hawks was their low turnover total.  The Hawks gave the ball up only four times, a surprising stat given their top two point guards are out tonight.

8:11… The Minutemen have erased the Hawks’ halftime lead in an offensive display much better than the first half for both teams. UMass has used the full-court press and some accurate jumpshooting to tie the score at 34-34.

Galloway has scored five in the early going to St. Joe’s, giving him a game-high 13 tonight.  The Hawks’ other basket came on a drive by Daryus Quarles, who now has seven points on the night.

8:21… Charoy Bentley hit an acrobatic layup and got the foul for a three-point play, eliciting shouts of  ”Where have you been for three years?” Galloway hit two threes to push his game-high scoring total to 19, eliciting shouts of  ”Where have you been for the last month?” And the Hawks seem to be clicking…

Aside from the shoddy rebounding that plagued them early in the game, St. Joe’s is hanging tough without leading scorer and starting point guard Carl Jones.

Hawks lead 45-37 with the ball and 11 minutes to play.

8:29… Galloway just buried his fifth three of the game, this time from the corner, and he is feelin’ it.  He now has 22 points to lead all scorers.

The Hawks hold a 50-37 lead with 8:31 to play, forcing Coach Derek Kellogg of UMass to call time out.

8:38… You knew UMass had to make a run at some point.  Freddie Riley has hit for the last five points and the Hawks’ lead has shrunk to 50-44 with 6:17 to play.

8:46… Just as the Minutemen were making a run, Daryus Quarles comes off the bench to score three quick points and preserve the Hawk lead.  He will be at the line to complete a three-point play out of the last media timeout.

Freddie Riley has been the story of the last six minutes.  He has 11 points, including three three-pointers, keeping the Minutemen within reach.

The Hawks have struggled from the free-throw line down the stretch, leaving the door open for UMass.

St. Joe’s has the lead 56-53 with 3:40 to play and Daryus Quarles at the line for one.

8:51… The Hawks are clinging to a two-point lead as they call a 30-second timeout.  58-56 with 2:16 to go.

8:55… Galloway turned the ball over against the press and Freddie Riley nails another three to bring the Minutemen to within one at 61-60. St. Joe’s had just scored on another three by Galloway, bringing his total to 25.

SJU ball with 1:21 to play.

8:58… Swilling drives and scores for St. Joe’s to give them a 63-60 lead.  Idris Hilliard then corralled the rebound off Gary Correia’s missed three.

Timeout St. Joe’s with 34.4 seconds to play and a three-point lead.

9:03… UMass with a four-point possession.  Hilliard is now at the line for two FTs.  65-64 Hawks with 12 second left.

9:07… Hilliard hits both free throws, Matt Hill misses the front end of the one-and-one for UMass, and the Hawks pull out their first win of the conference season and their first win of 2011 by a score of 67-64.

Thanks for following along tonight.  For a full recap of the game, check out The Hawk newspaper–on newstands Wednesday.

Today’s match-up features two teams headed in opposite directions.  Temple is enjoying its usual success in the Atlantic 10.  The Owls always seem to find themselves in the thick of the Atlantic 10 race, usually either winning the regular season or tournament championship over the past few years.  Meanwhile, the Hawks, losers of seven straight, keep finding new ways to lose as the Phil Martelli remains stuck on 294 wins.

The storyline for the Hawks remains the same as it has all year: the need to find a No. 2 scoring option to aid Carl Jones and the need for consistent play out of their freshmen.  Jones, the team leader with 17.9 ppg, has led the Hawks in scoring in 13 of the team’s 20 games.  Langston Galloway, the only other Hawk averaging double figures (11.3 ppg), has seemed to hit the vaunted freshman wall, struggling as the competition has gotten tougher and the season has gotten longer.  Freshman big man CJ Aiken will also have to step up.  Aiken, the A-10′s leader in block shots, scored 11 points and rejected nine shots in the Hawks’ most recent defeat, 76-72, against La Salle on Wednesday.

The Owls are paced by Ramone Moore.  Moore’s 15 ppg leads one of four Owls in double figures.  Juan Fernandez (10.4 ppg), Lavoy Allen (10.3 ppg), and Scootie Randall (10.1 ppg) are the other three.  Khalif Wyatt adds 8.8 ppg off the bench.

We’re almost set to get under way here at the Palestra.  Keep refreshing this page for live updates throughout the entire game.

11:06… The Hawks start with their usual lineup of Langston Galloway, Carl Jones, Idris Hilliard, Daryus Quarles, and CJ Aiken.  The Owls counter with a Juan Fernandez-less lineup.  The guard has been slowed by a knee injury of late, although has played through it.  The Owls start Micheal Eric, Lavoy Allen, Ramone Moore, Khaliff Wyatt, and Scootie Randall.

A couple fashion items that need mentioning.  Coaches on both sidelines are sporting sneakers along with the traditonal suit.  No, the look is not a tribute to Jerry Seinfeld, but rather as a gesture to raise cancer awareness for Coaches vs. Cancer weekend.

Another fashion note: Todd O’Brien is sporting a beard.  It needs to go.

7-2 Owls three minutes into the game.

11:11… The Owls hold a 9-6 lead at the first media timeout.  Lavoy Allen leads the Owls with four quick points off the tip.  Scootie Randall buried a three and Micheal Eric also added a layup.  The Hawks have gotten four points from Idris Hilliard as well as a two from Langston Galloway.  The Galloway shot is what brought us to our break as the officials went to the replay monitor after initially calling it a three.

The Hawks trail with 15 to play as they have simply gotten unlucky on the offensive end with multiple shots just rimming out.

11:17… Consecutive shot clock violations for each team bring us to the second media timeout with 11:59 to go with the Owls leading 11-8.  Since our last update, only CJ Aiken and Micheal Eric have scored baskets.  The Hawks are not being outplayed to this point, they just simply have been unlucky with their shots.

11:22… Ronald Roberts entered the game with a thunderous dunk, but the Owls responded with a 7-point spurt.  Five of those points were scored by Ramone Moore.  The rally was capped by Lavoy Allen abusing the Hawks’ interior defense for two points.  Martelli burned his first timeout at 18-10 with 9:15 to play.

Something of note: Temple’s run was made against a Hawk line-up that featured four freshmen and a sophomore.

11:26… The buckets continue to fall for the Owls. In the last two minutes of play, Scootie Randall buried two more threes to give him nine points and Rahlir Jefferson connected on a long two.  Randall’s threes sandwiched a Carl Jones three, but the Hawks have seen their deficit increase in a hurry.

The Owls lead 26-13 with 7:18 to play in the first half.

11:35… The owls now hold a 31-18 advantage with 2:51 to play in the half.  The main story is the Owls’ abuse of the Hawks in the paint.  The Owls are simply tearing the ball away from the Hawks.  What do the Hawks have to show for themselves? Only one foul in 18 minutes.  It would be nice if they mixed it up a little in the paint instead of just getting pushed around.

11:43… The half ends with Temple holding a 32-22 lead over the Hawks.

11:58… Halftime stats:

SJU: Jones with 8, Roberts with 6, Hilliard with 4, and Aiken and Galloway with 2 apiece.  Temple: Randall with 9, Eric with 7, Allen with 6, Moore with 5, Wyatt with 3, and Jefferson with 2.  Juan Fernanadez is out today and has not played at all for the Owls.

Temple is also 5-10 from three.

12:13… It hasn’t been pretty early for the Hawks in this half.  St. Joe’s trails 47-33 six minutes into the half at the first media timeout.

The Owls jumped out to a 9-0 run fueled by a three-point play by Scootie Randall.  The Hawks responded with a Hilliard three-pointer and an acrobatic three-point play by Roberts, but it’s been all Owls since.  Missed box outs by the Hawks have resulted in multiple easy baskets for the Owls.  A couple turnovers have led to Temple run-outs as well.

The only good thing for the Hawks has been the play of Ron Roberts.  He has nine points in this one, including the three-point play immediately after coming in off the bench.  Ever since he got the start against Penn a week ago, his production and confidence have both been on the rise.

Two free-throws by Ramone Moore and a three by TJ DiLeo have stretched the Owl lead to 52-33 with 13 to play.

12:18… Two minutes later, not much more to report.  Carl Jones scored on a three-point play, but the Hawks still trail 55-38 with 11:17 to play.

12:30… Ron Roberts has thrown down another dunk and hit on an acrobatic layup to keep the Hawks within striking distance at 59-46.  Roberts has scored seven second-half points and has 13 for the game.  Carl Jones has also dropped 17 for the Hawks.

If St. Joe’s is to make a run at this one, it has to be now.  The Hawks are down 13 with 7:53 to play.

12:41… And it’s safe to say this one is in the books.  Instead of making that run the Hawks needed, the Owls put the game away.  With 3:10 remaining, the Owls have the ball and a 20-point lead when we come out of this final media timeout.

The Hawks were simply outclassed in this one.

12:52… And that’s all she wrote today from the Palestra.  Temple wins 72-54.

The Hawks were paced by Carl Jones with 19 points and Ron Roberts with 17 (unofficially).

If the Hawks are to win tonight, they may have to do it without freshman big man CJ Aiken.  Aiken, who has started all 18 games thus far, averages 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and a conference-leading 3.8 blocks per game.  His last time out, Aiken electrified the Hagan arena crowd, throwing down three fast break dunks and sinking two corner threes to help give the Hawks a 37-35 halftime lead against Rhode Island.  Aside from his defense, he disappeared in the second half, scoring his 12 points in the game in the first half.  He did finish with seven blocks.  Aiken warmed up with the team, but is out of the starting line-up tonight and is questionable to play at all.  Fellow freshman Ronald Roberts will start in his place.

The Hawks are desperate to find consistent scoring to help balance the output of sophomore guard Carl Jones.  Jones, scoring 17.8 points per game, seemed to be the only offensive-minded Hawk on the floor in the second half against Rhody.  He finished with 25 points but was unable to prevent the Rams and Delroy James from overtaking the small halftime lead en route to a win.  Langston Galloway (11.8 ppg) and Idris Hilliard (7.8 ppg) will need to step up in order for the Hawks to be successful.

The Quakers counter with a line-up featuring four double-digit scorers.  Junior guard Zack Rosen paces Penn with 15.3 points per game.  He is joined in double figures by forward Jack Eggleston (13.1 ppg) and guards Miles Cartwright (11.6 ppg) and Tyler Bernardini (10.2 ppg).

Penn has dropped its last four games, and eight overall, but have played some tough competition.  Their opponents include Pittsburgh, Villanova, Kentucky, and Temple.  Don’t expect the Quakers to shy away from the Hawks tonight.

We’re about 10 minutes from tip off.  Stay with us the rest of the night for live coverage from the historic Palestra.

7:04… The Hawks take the floor sporting the gray unis while UPenn will be wearing the road navy blue.  St. Joe’s is considered the home team in this contest due to an arrangement between the two schools to alternate each year.  The only things this changes are the uniforms worn and the athletic communication staff that sets up the game.

Starting line-ups

SJU: Jones, Roberts, Quarles, Hilliard, and Galloway

Penn: Cartwright, Rosen, Bernardini, Dougherty, and Eggleston

Penn controls the tip and we’re under way.

7:12… Five minutes have passed and the Hawks hold a 9-7 lead at the first media timeout.  Hilliard has five, scoring both with a straight-away three-pointer and on a layup off a Carl Jones drive.  Roberts and Quarles have each scored two for the Hawks.

Roberts has taken advantage of his opportunity to start.  He scored on a reverse layup for the team’s first basket and has anchored the paint for the Hawks with his defense and rebounding.

Miles Cartwright, Penn’s third leading scorer, already has two fouls.

7:19… The Quakers can shoot it a little bit.  Bernardini has hit a pair of threes in the last stretch and Penn has jumped out to a 17-14 lead over the Hawks.

CJ Aiken is set to check into the game for the first time.  Roberts has shown he can play tonight though.  Expect him to get a lot more time with Aiken being under the weather.

St. Joe’s has given up a couple of fast break layups and stick backs over the past few minutes as the guards have struggled to keep Penn off the boards.  A couple of desperation heaves late in the shot clock by Quarles and Galloway also gave Penn run-outs in the open floor.

Swilling, Aiken, and Crosgile have now entered the game for the Hawks at the 10:30 mark.

7:24… Swilling and Crosgile hit threes upon taking the floor and the Hawk have vaulted back in front of the Quakers.  UPenn has started to make some mistakes on the offensive end–missing layups and making errant passes.

Phil Martelli has gone deep to his bench early, and they have responded.  Six players have scored for the Hawks.  Swilling, Crosgile, Aiken, and Bentley have all seen action off the bench.  Aiken got another rejection on the first shot he defended.  So much for the flu…

The Hawks take the floor with a 20-19 lead with 7:05 remaining in the first half.

7:35… Penn has switched it up to the 2-3 zone and the Hawks look lost.  The back-and-forth first half has now swung back to the Quakers; they lead 26-25 with 2:39 to go.

UPenn is sitting back in its 2-3 zone daring the Hawks to shoot over them.  So far the Hawks are 5-12 from deep.  Too many of the misses are ill-advised and have led to Quaker fast break points.  With an advantage in the paint, it’ll be interesting to see if Phil changes the game plan.

Quarles leads the balanced Hawks attack tonight with 7.  Bernardini has 12 for Penn.

7:44… Hilliard closes the half for the Hawks with a layup off a nice pick-and-roll play with Langston Galloway.  But the Hawks still find themselves trailing 30-28 at intermission.

St. Joe’s has not had an answer for Tyler Bernardini, who paces the Quakers with 14 points by way of threes, mid-range jumpers, and fast-break layups.  Zack Rosen has hit a couple of threes, but aside from him, Penn shows no other discernible offensive threat.

The Hawks simply have taken too many bad shots.  They should not be losing this game right now, but they find themselves trailing thanks to a number of offensive mindcramps.

7:50… Stat boy has just come around with the official first half stats.  Quarles and Hilliard lead the team with 7 points apiece.  Leading scorer Carl Jones and second leading scorer Langston Galloway have combined for four point (3 for Jones, 1 for Galloway).  The Hawks will need more production from this end.

An even more troubling statistic is the rebound totals.  The guard-oriented Penn squad is outrebounding the Hawks by a count of 16-14.  The Hawks have also turned the ball over 9 times, resulting in 7 Penn points.

On a happier note, former Hawk Rashid Bey was just inducted into the Big Five Hall of Fame.  Congrats to him!

8:05… Ronald Roberts just brought the student section to its feet with a put back slam at the end of the shot clock to cap a four-minute segment that left much to be desired for the Hawks.  The offensive rebound was just the second of the game for the Hawks.  Daryus Quarles was the lone bright spot for the Hawks, hitting a pair of mid-range jumpers to bring his team-high scoring total to 11 points.

The Hawks trail Penn by 3 at the 15:55 mark.

8:11… Timeout Penn after a St. Joe’s onslaught on the boards.  Think Phil emphasized that at the half?  Hilliard, Roberts, and Galloway have all been hitting the glass hard to start the half.

Ronald Roberts is making a strong case to stay in the starting line-up beyond tonight.  He’s scored 10 points and has seven rebounds by my unofficial count.   He’s done a great job filling in for CJ Aiken.  Aiken has only played about 8 minutes tonight, has two blocks but zero shot attempts.  He clearly is not himself after missing the last two days of practice with the flu.

42-41 Hawks at the 13:24 mark.

8:20… Roberts is still doing work for the Hawks, collecting another rebound and 2 more points in the last couple minutes.  CJ Aiken found his way into the scorebook as well with a 18-foot jumper late in the shot clock.

The story of the night, though, has been the play of Tyler Bernardini for Penn.  He has 24 points to lead all scorers and does not seem to miss.  He has regained the lead for Penn at 49-46 with 11:16 to go.

8:33… Bernardini just doesn’t miss.  He comes off the bench to nail another three, bringing his game-high scoring total to 27 points.

The Hawk bench seems to be losing some of its composure following a few close calls that went Penn’s way.  Phil has put Jones, Aiken, Hilliard, Galloway, and Roberts on the floor to try to take control of the game.  Penn is on the line for two, leading 54-51 with 6:53 to go.

8:40… Galloway just hit a 12-footer to pull the Penn lead back to four.  After an Eggleston scoop shot, it was beginning to feel as though the game was slipping from the Hawks.  60-56 Penn with 4:39 to go.

8:43… The porous Hawk defense is not helping their cause at all.  Fran Dougherty just finished a wide-open lay-up in the offensive set to push the lead back to six points for the Quakers.

Langston Galloway is having his freshman struggles tonight.  On top of only scoring three points on 1-6 shooting, he has struggled mightily in handling the basketball.  He has dribbled off his own leg at least three times and the most recent occurrence forced a poor shot on the part of Carl Jones late in the shot clock.

Penn has the ball up 6 with the clock winding toward three minutes.

8:46… Zack Rosen’s latest three might have been the back-breaker.  Penn leads 67-58 with 1:25 to go.  St. Joe’s offense just isn’t scoring and isn’t even getting shots until 25 to 30 seconds into the possession.

8:50… UPenn’s Big Five futility comes to a close against the Hawks tonight.  Conor Turley’s fastbreak dunk off the press was the exclamation point of the occasion as the Hawk’s disappointing season moves on.

St. Joe’s drops to 5-14 on the year, losing their last 6.  Penn snaps its four-game losing streak and raise its record to 6-8.

The final score from the Palestra is 73-61 Penn triumphing over St. Joe’s.  Thank you for following.

For a complete recap of the game, check out The Hawk this week.  The first issue of the new semester will be on newsstands Wednesday morning.

The Hawks dropped the pair of road contests, at Dayton and Saint Louis, and are now looking for some home-cooking to right the ship and get them on track in the Atlantic 10 season.  St. Joe’s is winless in four conference games, dropping games to Duquesne and George Washington. The Hawks find themselves in the basement, 3.5 games behind leaders Duquesne, Xavier, and George Washington.  This cold streak leaves Head Coach Phil Martelli six games shy of his 300th career victory.

The Hawks are paced by the young backcourt tandem of sophomore Carl Jones (17.4 ppg) and freshman Langston Galloway (12.1).  Jones has reached double figures in 16 of the 17 games this year, and will undoubtedly need to do so again in order to give the Hawks a chance.  The Hawks will need someone else to step up on the offensive end.  CJ Aiken (8.1 ppg) and Idris Hilliard (7.5 ppg) will provide an inside-out balance to the Hawk attack if they can be serious scoring threats tonight.

The Hawks will need to find a way to contain the Rams’ prolific scorer Delroy James.  The 6-8 senor forward averages 17.8 points per game and is a threat to score from anywhere on the floor.  European sharpshooter Nikola Malesevic will test the Hawks on the perimeter.  CJ Aiken, the A-10 blocks leader, will need to lead the defensive charge for the Hawks tonight.

We’re now six minutes away from tip-off.  Keep refreshing your page throughout the night to stay up with the action.

7:08… We’re running at about half capacity tonight in Hagan Arena as we get set to tip it off.  Here are the starting line-ups:

SJU: Hilliard, Galloway, Quarles, Aiken, Jones

URI: James, Marquis Jones, Akeem Richmond, Maelsevic, and Will Martell

St. Joe’s controls the tip, and we’re under way.

7:15… We’ve reached the first media timeout, almost 6 minutes into the game, and the Rams lead 13-10.  The Hawks are clearly out-sized at four of the five positions on the floor, and the Rams are starting to assert their authority in the paint.  The Hawks’ scoring has been balanced, with every starter except for Quarles recording a bucket.

The Rams have been unable to find the range from deep, with Marquis Jones misfiring twice.  But Delroy James has been slicing the Hawks’ defense with ease.  He has four of the Rams’ points, has led a couple of their fast breaks, and has drawn two Hawk fouls in the early going.

Jones makes two free throws out of the timeout for the Hawks and we’re back to a one-point game.

7:20… Todd O’Brien enters the game to help the Hawks in the paint.  Rhody has tried the full-court press a number of times already, but the Hawks have broken it with ease and been able to push it in transition.  13-12 URI.

7:23… We’re at the under 12 timeout.  Carl Jones has thrown up four bricks from deep, not even coming close on any thus far.  Todd O’Brien, no doubt brought into the game to help the Hawks on the glass, saw his first rebound opportunity go off his hand, off his foot, and out of bounds.

The only bucket we’ve seen since the last media timeout was on another Delroy James drive to the left block.  He’s scored six points to lead the Rams.  The score is now 15-12.

7:26… James hits two free throws, Quarles misses badly on a three, and Malesvic buries a triple on the other end to push the URI lead to 20-12.  The 7-0 spurt forces Martelli to use the first time out at the 10:55 mark.

The first possession after the timeout: Galloway airballs a three-pointer early in the shot clock.  I don’t think that’s what Phil drew up…

7:36… CJ Aiken ignites the crowd with a three-pointer and a huge block.  Carl Jones then buries another three as the Hawks seemed to find life offensively.  They finally give the crowd something to cheer about after a five-minute period of stagnant offense and matador defense.

Jones is leading the way for the Hawks with eight points as the deficit has been cut to three at 22-19.  Delroy James knifed to the rim and drew yet another Hawk foul and will be at the line again when we resume play with 7:25 to go in the first half.

7:43… CJ Aiken is single-handedly keeping the Hawks in this one over the last few minutes.  The freshman buried another corner three to cut the Ram lead to 30-26 and is now pacing the Hawks with 10 points.

Rhode Island looked lost with James receiving a short break on the bench.  A couple of late-in-the-possession breakdowns for the Hawks, however, allowed Will Martell and Nikola Malesevic to get easy baskets to keep the Rams out in front.

If the Hawks’ open shots would start falling at all, they might actually have a chance here.

7:55… Carl Jones scored the final seven points of the half and gave the Hawks their first lead of the game at with a corner three with 46 seconds remaining at the half.  The sophomore guard is the game’s high-scorer in the first half with 17 points as the Hawks hold a 37-35 edge at intermission.

The Hawks finally found some offensive rhythm getting out in transition.  Many of the open shots that went begging through the first 15 minutes finally started falling and the crowd–now at about 80% capacity–came to its feet on a number of occasions.

CJ Aiken kept the Hawks in it for the first 19 minutes of the half.  He brought the crowd to its feet multiple times with three dunks, two three-point bombs from the corner in front of URI Coach Jim Baron, and three blocks near the rim.  He has 12 points at intermission.

The Rams have found their success in the half-court set, using the size advantage as well as Delroy James’ driving ability to get to the rim and create fouls and easy baskets.  James has nine points–five from the charity stripe–to pace the Rams.  Akeem Richmond has dropped a pair of threes on his way to eight points, and Malesevic has also poured in seven for Rhody.

Look for the Rams to try to slow the game down and call off the full-court press.  The Hawks have handled the ball well against it and have created open looks in transition.  The Rams have had a clear advantage in their half-court sets.

We’re in for an entertaining second half as the Hawks will look to hold on to their slim lead and snatch their first Atlantic-10 win.

8:10… Starting line-ups back on the floor for both squads as the Hawks inbound it to start the second stanza.  The Hawks hold a 37-35 lead.

8:17… Rhody has regained the lead 44-43 on another Delroy James driving lay-up as the Hawk have been victimized by sloppy play on the offensive end.

Idris has two baskets in the half, giving him seven points on the game, on an 18-footer from the top of the key and a lay-up on the left block.  Other than that and a Quarles jumper, the Hawks’ possessions have been marred by offensive fouls and bad passes.

8:24… Carl Jones brings us to the media timeout with an offensive foul for the second time in a row.  Not much offense in the last four-minute segment, with only a Delroy James three finding the bottom of the net.  James has scored 10 of URI’s 12 points in the first eight minutes of the half.  The Hawks have no answer for him driving the lane.  CJ Aiken’s five blocks (unofficially) have not even deterred him from entering the lane.

The Hawks’ sloppy offense continues as they have gone more than four minutes without a point.  URI leads 47-43 as the clock winds down to 11 minutes.

8:29…Delroy James is doing it all for the Rams.  He’s rebounding, facilitating, and scoring.  Akeem Richmond’s third three, this one off an inside-out assist from James, forces Martelli to call timeout at the 9:54 mark.  The Hawks trail 50-43 and have not scored since the 15:26 mark.

8:34… Idris Hilliard snaps a 7 minute, 12 second scoring drought for the Hawks with an open lay-up.  Hopefully for the Hawks that might remove the invisible lid covering the basket.

…These kids in Dunkin Donuts suits aren’t having nearly as much trouble scoring…

The Rams have the ball and a 52-45 lead with 7:59 remaining.  The Hawks need to find some energy quickly and make a stand in the next 4-minute block.

8:37… Another CJ Aiken block, a Carl Jones three, followed by a Jones steal and breakaway lay-up is just what the Hawks needed.  Jim Baron is forced to call timeout with 6:38 remaining and the Rams clinging to a 54-50 lead.

8:44… Another Jones three is keeping the Hawks within striking distance, but their inability to hold the Rams at bay is preventing them from taking a lead.  Jones, now with 25 points, just sunk his fourth three of the game, but then fouled Marquis Jones at the other end, putting Jones at the line when we come out of the timeout.

Aiken, the star of the first half, has yet to score here in the second half, giving the Hawks only one real scoring threat in Jones.

The home team will need to step it up on both ends in a hurry.  URI leads 58-53, with 2 free throws upcoming, with 3:36 to go.

8:47… Galloway gets to the rim and drops in a bunny.  Martelli calls timeout to set up the press while also begging for a foul.  60-55 with 2:53 left.

8:52…The Hawks are doing a lot of standing around offensively at a time where they can’t afford to.  Hilliard scored on an 8-footer in the lane at the shot clock carried below five second.  Martelli then called timeout on the next possession as 17 seconds waned from the shot clock without any Hawk movement toward the bucket.

Hawks’ ball with 1:16 remaining.  The Rams cling to a 61-57 lead.

8:56… Ron Roberts fouls out for the Hawks after an Idris Hilliard stick-back.  As it stands, Marquis Jones is at the line for a one-and-one for URI, up 4 with 11 seconds to go.

8:58… And that’ll do it for the Hawks.  Marquis Jones sinks one free throw to bring the final score to 64-59 Rams.

The Rams run their record to 12-6, 3-1 in the Atlantic 10.  The Hawks fall to 5-13, 0-5 in the A-10 with the loss.  The Hawks are back in action Saturday against UPenn at the Palestra.

Thank you for following along tonight.

While that may be true, J Smith, this Friday also happens to be another occurrence of the Holy War, the annual meeting of St. Joe’s and Villanova.

This year, the Hawks (3-3) come stumbling into this meeting after a 12-point loss to Drexel, and face by far the toughest opponent of the season to this point in Villanova.

The Wildcats (5-1) suffered their first loss of the season last week against a tough Tennessee squad and will be looking to rebound tonight against their main Big 5 rival. Jay Wright’s team is led by Corey Fisher, who has done a solid job to this point replacing the production and leadership of graduated senior Scottie Reynolds.

The Hawks will rely on Carl Jones, ’13, to lead the team to success this season. Head coach Phil Martelli has tended to start three freshmen this season, which has been feast or famine to this point. Langston Galloway, ’14, Daryus Quarles, ’14, and CJ Aiken, ’14, have had flashes of Brilliance on the court, while also showing signs of their youth. If they don’t start off hot, the Hawks could be in trouble, as the Wildcats come in ranked 12th nationally and will be backed by the ‘Nova Nation in the Dupont Pavilion.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for more updates as the night goes on!

8:31: Starters for tonight’s game: For Nova: Pena, Wayns, Fisher, Yarou, and Stokes. For the Hawks: Aiken, Galloway, Quarles, Hilliard, and Jones.

8:44: Tip off time. The Nation goes crazy, I should know, I’m five feet in front of them. The Wildcats get the tip, but Stokes misses the jump. On the other end, Hilliard hits the jumper to give the Hawks the lead.

8:47: Another Nova miss. but Galloway airs it. Wayns then does the same. Tay misses the jump, but Quarles hits the three. Hawks by 5.

8:48: Pena gets the Cats on the board, but Jones answers with a 2. Pena again comes back, and hits his second jumper. Hilliard misses, and Pena pulls the board. Stokes misses, then Quarles misses.Wayns then gets the Cats two on a jumper. 7-6 Hawks.

8:51: Hilliard hits the deuce, and the Hawks stay in front. Aiken picks up the TO, but the Hawks are blocked followed by a Pena drive to the basket. Quarles misses, but Aiken gets the block on the other end.

8:54: Timeout. Jay Wright, as usual, has dressed to the 9s. Tonight, we have some pinstripes on the coat with what looks to be a purple button-up underneath. How regal of you, Jay.

8:55: Bell gets his first two after the timeout. Tay then gets two more on the other end. Stokes then hits the 3, and the Cats are up 13-11.

8:57: Fisher hits a 3 after trading off misses, and Aiken gets two on the other end. Hawks, so far, are playing this close. And as I say that, Stokes merrily finds his way to the basket for an easy two, and afterwards Fisher gets two more. Tay then gets two and a foul. The score is now 20-15 Wildcats.

9:01: Jones hits the single FT, and the Nova lead is at 4. Tay then picks up the loose ball and hits the two. The ball bounces off Yarou and the Hawks can tie it with 2. Traveling cancels those plans, however, and Pena hits two more.

9:04: On the other end, Todd O’Brien gets fouled, and does his best Shaq impression. He makes up for it with a board, but double dribbling gives Nova the ball once again. 22-18 Cats.

9:06: Hawks are getting some break tonight, as bad passes gives them another offensive opportunity. Swilling gets the offensive foul, however, and the Wildcats make another drive. Another Nova mistake spares the Hawks from two more on the deficit, and the game remains at 22-18.

9:09: After a timeout, Crosgile gives up the airball. Dominique Cheek then gets 2 for Nova. Ron Roberts answers on the other end for St. Joe’s, keeping the deficit at 4.

9:11: After a pair of possession changes, Roberts fouls Cheek, who goes to shoot two. He hits the first, and hits the second. Galloway misses a 3, but Roberts gets the board. Crosgile then sneaks to the other side of the court to hit the 3, making it 26-23 Nova.

9:14:  Cheek is picking up where Pena left off. He just hit a 3 to make it 28-23 Cats.

9:15: Hilliard gets a two mid-fall, but Galloway fouls a Wildcat on a missed three. The player will be named after this timeout.

9:18: That player is in fact Fisher, who hits all three free throws to make it 31-25 Nova.  On the other end, Quarles misses a jumper, and Fisher gets three more points. This is countered by three fro Tay, who makes it a six point game.

9:22: Cheek misses a 3, but after a few misses, Quarles fouls Cheek, who is shooting two. He hits the first, misses the second, and Aiken gets a nice block. Cheek then comes back to bite the Hawks, though, with a three from the corner. Tay then misses a 3, and Yarou gets two. That will wrap up the half, where we find the Hawks down 38-28.

9:26: I must say, the Hawks have put up one hell of a fight. What scares me, though, is that they are starting to look tired. Fatigue can’t help a 10 point lead, and Phil will need to find some way to circumvent that.

Another problem for the Hawks is the 3. The Wildcats have helped the Hawks out by missing a few open opportunities, and if they get hot in the second half, look out. Let’s hope the Cats keep on missing.

9:42: A pair of turnovers open the second half, and Hilliard gets the first two of the half. Fisher misses, but Stokes hits the 3. Aiken misses a jumper, but after a Nova miss, Quarles hits a 3. 41-33 Wildcats.

9:45: Nova called a timeout after the Quarles 3. At the end of the timeout, Stokes misses a jumper, but Quarles misses on the other end. Hilliard gets a foul on the other end, and Wayns makes both free throws. Hilliard gets a miss, and Stokes hits the three.

9:49:  Aiken picks up his first foul, and Yarou finishes the drive with two. Wayns capitalizes on a miss from Jones, and the score is now 50-33. Oy Vey.

9:51: Wow. Galloway misses badly, the Wildcats pick up the ball, get the two and a foul. Lead could get to 20 with this shot.

9:54: Pena misses the shot, but the Wildcats ge the board. Aiken blocks, but Fisher gets fouled seconds later. He hits both shots to make it 54-33 Wildcats.

9:56: Hilliard gets a quick two on a layup. After a backcourt violation, the Hawks get the ball back. Jones gets two more for the Hawks to cut it to 17. Aiken gets the block, and on the reset, Pena fouls a Hawk. After  a miss, Stokes gets two, and after a Swilling miss, Pena pulls down the board, which leads to Hilliard getting his third foul of the game.

9:59: Cheek makes one of two free throws, and with Crosgile and O’Brien now in, Galloway gets a long two. Fisher tries to drive to the basket, but Galloway fouls him. Shots coming after the timeout.

10:04: Nova misses the shots, and Galloway hits a three. Pena comes back, however, and powers a layup. Carl Baptiste now in the game, and he gets a layup.

10:05: Crosgile misses a three on the one end, and on the other, Yarou gets two. Ron Roberts then gets fouled by Fisher, misses the first free throw, and the second as well. Pena then gets this crowd riled with a Dunk, bringing the lead back to 20.

10:08: I was just informed that fellow journalist Phil Jasner has passed away. We here at the Hawk send our condolences to the family and friends of one of the best and most famous Philadelphia sports journalists.

10:12: Carl Jones hits a 3, Pena hits a shot. Quarles gets fouled and makes a free throw.

10:16: Hilliard gets his fourth foul on the night, and the Hawks turn the ball over again. Quarles hits a three at the other end. Hawks down 67-51.

10:18: Bentley hits a three, and Martelli calls a timeout.

10:22: Tay gets a layup, and on the other end, but Stokes answers. Quarles then gets another layup to make it 69-58 with 1:25 left.

10:27: With the minutes winding down, Galloway hits a two. 40.5 seconds left on the clocks, and the Hawks are down 69-60.

10:28: and here it comes: The Hawk is dead. I hate to say it, but Nova fans are right, even if just for tonight.

10:29: Bentley gets a foul, giving the Wildcats free throws. Stokes hits both to make it an 11 point game. Nova gets the rebound and that’s it. Final: 71-60. More from postgame later.

It’s been awhile, but the blog is back!

Tonight features two games: the St. Joe’s women’s basketball team vs. the Providence Lady Friars and the St. Joe’s men’s basketball team against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

In the first round, the (women) Hawks will be up against the Providence Lady Friars. The Friars went 19-15 last season, playing in a conference with some of giants of the game on the UConn women’s team. Statistically, the Lady Friars come into this game as a perfect match for the Hawks, with most stats differing by tenths of a point. The Friars lead the overall series 3-1, including a victory last season by the score of 88-57. Something tells me this game may be a bit closer, as this is the season opener for the Hawks. Another fun fact, the last time the two basketball teams played a doubleheader they took both games, albeit against Fordham at the beginning of this calendar year.

About 20 minutes to tipoff. Keep an eye on the blog for more updates!

5:03: With the National Anthem finished, the starters are announced. For the Hawks are: Kuester, Van Grinsven, Baker, Cavallo, and Prim. For the Friars we have: Tate, Wright, Hankins, Wells, and Barnes. The Hawks are wearing their… away Greys, while the Lady Friars wear their Blacks, not sure what typical uniform that is.

5:06:  Providence wins the tip, and gets the first basket thanks to Mi-Khida Hankins. On the following possession, Baker hits a jump from the line to tie the game up.

5:08: The Hawks force a turnover but Prim gets called on the travel. Hankins hits her second straight basket to make it 4-2 Lady Friars. On the next possession, Van Grinsven keeps the ball in the Hawks’ hands, and Cavallo hits one from the post. Teya Wright comes right back for the Lady Friars, making it 6-4 Friars.

5:10: Van Grinsven misses a short jumper, but after a Tate miss the Hawks get the ball back. Prim drives to the hoop, misses, but the Hawks get the ball back. Score remains 6-4 Providence.

5:14: After a timeout on the floor Kuester drains a shot from beyond the arc to give St. Joe’s a lead. The Hawks then get the defensive rebound, but a travel gives Providence the ball. Another round of solid D gives the Hawks the ball again. Cavallo gets pushed and the ball comes loose, but after another rebound she gets the points she deserved.

5:16: Van Grinsven skies a ball, but it magically goes in. She then pulls the ball away next possession, but a steal gives Providence the ball. Simone Roberts then hits a 3 to make it 11-9 Hawks. Shelby Smith gets a foul on the other end, and Roberts misses one of two foul shots. On the other end though, Baker, doing her best Air Jordan impression, makes it to the net for two. 13-10 Hawks.

5:20: After a Providence timeout, Bryant gets called for a foul. Okafor misses both shots for the Friars, and Baker pulls down the rebound. Kuester misses the three on the other end, and after a toss up on the floor. Providence gets the ball. The score remains 13-10 Hawks with 11:35 left.

5:23: Friars called on the travel, and Baker gets two more on the other end. Providence comes back with two on their own. Allie Jones drops the ball, but an offensive foul gives the ball back to St. Joe’s. Jones gets a foul call her way the next drive, but misses her free throws. Lola Wells brings the lead to 1 as she hits a shot on the other end.

5:27: With under 8:30 left, Tate hits a 3 to give the Lady Friars the lead. A turnover on the other side sets the Friars up for another score after the timeout. 17-15 Friars.

5:31: After a a pair of possession changes, the Hawks tie the game with a Prim jumper.  A tossup on the other side gives the Hawks the ball and an opportunity to take the lead. Kelly Cavallo does just that, and the Hawks now have a 19-17 lead.

5:34: Mireia Vila misses the deep two, but Cavallo pulls the board down. Van Grinsven again dominates the basket to make it 21-17 Hawks. After a defensive rebound, Cavallo hits the layup to make it 23-17. Quieting the crowd, however, Providence ends the Hawk run with a jumper. On the next drive, Vila goes up for the shot and gets fouled. Keeping possession for the Hawks.

5:39: After a timeout on the floor, Vila hits one of two free throws to make it 24-19 Hawks. Van Grinsven pulls the rebound and pushes it to Prim for a quick 2. Cavallo then gets a rebound of her own, but Vila is called on the travel. 26-19 Hawks.

5:42: Hawks let up two to the Lady Friars, but Van Grinsven assists Baker for payback. Wright then gets two more for the Lady Friars with less than a minute to go. Van Grinsven then hits the jumper to make it 30-23 Hawks. After misses from the Lady Friars, the half ends with the Hawks still up by 7.

5:46: At the half, the Hawks have done what they were able to do all last season: rotate players. All but two of the women have played so far, and Cavallo, Baker, and Van Grinsven are leading the way points-wise. This is the epitome of a team effort, however, and it shows on the scoreboard. If the Hawks can continue this pace, there is no reason they should not be able to hold this lead.

5:59: Back from the half and Providence has the ball. Wright hits a solid jumper for two opening points, but Van Grinsven comes back and answers with two.

6:03: Michelle baker shows off her aerial skills again as she tabs two more for the Hawks. Cavallo gets called on a foul, and after the reset Providence gets called for a double dribble. Van Grinsven again plows to the net, for another shot, giving the Hawks an 11 point lead.

6:05: Providence gets a quick two, and on the next drive Kuester gets fouled on a shot. Kuesters goes on to sink both shots. Tate strikes again for Providence with a three, but then Kuester answers with one of her own, forcing the Lady Friars to take a timeout. Hawks now up 41-30.

6:09: After the timeout, Wright gets called for an elbow, giving St. Joe’s the ball. The Hawks miss the shot, and Providence answers with two. Cavallo then hits a layup, and after a turnover Prim gets one of her own to make it 45-32 Hawks. Van Grinsven takes another Providence miss, and on the other end Cavallo hits yet another basket.

6:14: The Hawks play smart defense, but Baker misses a 3 to give the Friars the ball back. Wright drives to the basket and gets the foul. And one opportunity coming up, Hawks lead 47-34.

6:17: Wright misses her shot, and with the ball, Dominique Bryant misses a mid-range jump. On the other end, Providence is called on the double dribble. Vila passes it to an open Cavallo for yet another layup. Hawks now up 49-34. If the Hawks can keep this power duo of Cavallo and Van Grinsven healthy and foul free, there could be a juggernaut under the net.

6:22: Less than 10 minutes to go, Baker hits a nice shot, but Providence answers. Hawks still have a 13 point lead, though. Baker is on fire right now, as after a turnover she again hits a quick layup. Wright comes back for the Lady Friars to add two to their score. Hawks up 55-42.

6:27: Providence gets another quick two, and after an out of bounds call on Shelby Smith, have the chance to make this a single digit margin.

6:29: Less than 6:30 left. The Friars have cut the lead to 9, but Keuster has the opportunity to make it double digits again with two foul shots. She does just that, and the Hawks are up 57-46.

6:33: While the D turns it up on the next drive, a traveling call gives the Lady Friars the ball back. After the Friars miss, Kuester makes the shot and gets the foul. She sinks the extra shot and on the other end good defense gives the Hawks the ball back.

6:36: With Providence going for a shot, Cavallo gives a nice block. Baker goes up for a shot, misses, but gets the foul. Shots to come after the under-4 timeout.

6:39: Baker hits both shots to make it 62-46 Hawks. On the other end Providence gets a Cavallo foul and hits one of two shots. Baker misses her layup, but gets the rebound on defense. Van Grinsven again powers down the court and hits for another two. Providence then misses yet again, and with 1:22 left this looks wrapped up.

6:43: The last minute winds down. Providence gets one last shot, but it’s over. The Hawks win 64-49. Stay tuned for more updates as the men’s game approaches.

7:18: Due to technical difficulties, I couldn’t get internet until now, including a blog I was unable to edit. Check the print edition of the Hawk for more on both games, including postgame comments from coaches Griffin and Martelli.

A quick preview: WKU is huge. The average height is 6-4. This could pose major problems if the Hawks don’t run the court. Let’s hope, for victory’s sake, they do.

Tipoff is T-Minus 10 minutes. More updates to follow!

7:27: Starters for the Hawks: Aiken, Quarles, Galloway, Hilliard, and Jones. Yes, that’s three Freshmen. For Western Kentucky: Patillo, Dickerson, Brown, Peters, and Pettigrew.

7:39: And the Hawks take the tip. Galloway goes up for the quick shot, but gets the O foul. Oh boy. On a good note, same happened to WKU, so the Hawks now have the ball back. Jones finally gets two points, and the crowd goes, as you would expect, nuts.

7:40: Did I mention these guys were big? The Hawks just got posterized and then blocked. Pettigrew comes back and hits a jumper, and then the Hilltoppers get the ball back on OB call.

7:43: After a Galloway 3, Quarles gets the foul. WKU gets two free throws in, making it 5-6 WKU.

7:44: Galloway gets his second foul of the game, looks like we’ll need someone to fill in, and it’ll be Ron Roberts. WKU hits one free throw to make it 7-5.

7:47: Crosgile hits a 3, but WKU comes back hard. It’s 12-8 WKU. And I think my internet problems are solved.

7:50: Cliff Dixon posterizes the Hawks this time. That’s two posters already! There is some hope, though. These young kids are just off the mark. If they try closer shots they may get success.

7:53: What they lack on offense, though, they make up for on defense. Rebounds and blocks galore. Dixon is tearing this team up right now, and the Hawks need someone to step it up.

7:54: These guys need to figure out how to make baskets quick. They’re just missing, but those misses could build up fast if the defense breaks.

7:56: Charoy Bentley in, and he suffers the same fate as Galloway: foul on the first drive. Quarles then gets his second foul, and this team could be in trouble. Hawks keep the ball this time on an OB call, and Carl Jones is back in the game.

7:58: Tay gets fouled on a 3, and shots are coming after a timeout. Hawks down 18-10.

8:00: Tay hits 3 straight to cut the lead to 5. Defense comes up big again for the Hawks, but a basket interference gets called on the Hawks. Pattillo again hits for two. After a miss at the basket, WKU gets Pattillo with his second foul, which could provide opportunity for the Hawks.

8:03: Dixon fills in where Pattillo left off, scoring for WKU. Score is 22-13. Ron Roberts fouled and shooting two.

8:04: One and One, correction, and he misses the first. Crosgile forces the turnover, however, and Hilliard capitalizes. Aiken gets the first points of his young career, a 3, and magically the Hilltopper lead is down to 4.

8:06: Defense helps the Hawks again, and Aiken now capitalizes with a layup. He then comes up with the block, and Tay ties the game. Wow.

8:07: The crowd gets quiet quickly, as Pettigrew sinks a 3. I’m still in awe of CJ Aiken’s five point swing.

8:10: Hilliard misses the layup, and Kerusch hits a 3. Aiken hits… open air. Crosgile then comes back with a 3. Can you say fast paced?

8:11: Kerusch gets a quick 2, WKU up 30-25. Miscommunication almost gives the Hawks a missed opportunity, but in the Swilling gets fouled for two. Swilling misses the first and makes the second, lead now at 4.

8:14: Baptiste fouls Pettigrew on a shot, and he  makes both. A miss gives WKU the ball back, and Kerusch gets a layup. Swilling hits a quick two, but Pettigrew answers. A Crosgile miss leads to a turnover, and Carl Jones fould Kerusch on the other end. 36-28 WKU.

8:19: Kerusch hits both free throws, and after a turnover Peters gets the easy layup. O’Brien gets on the board with a layup, keeping the deficit somewhat manageable.

8:21: O’Brien gets fouled, and thanks to a Hilltopper hand gets two points on one shot. Tay now in to shoot two on a foul. He hits one and the lead is at 11 in favor of the Hilltoppers. Dixon gets a controversial call to go his way, but only hits one of two free throws.

8:24: Hilliard gets a good layup, and then gets the rebound on the other end. Hilliard misses the 3, but Tay chases the ball down before we have another posterization (I like that word tonight). Kerusch then hits a 3 to make it a 13 point lead.

8:26: Before the half ends, Aiken saves some face with a solid 3. Hopefully something the team can build on in the second half.

8:27: Well, this was a sloppy half. Misses, bad calls, and overall sloppy play plagued the Hawks. The Hilltoppers helped out with some foul troubles, which could help the Hawks in the second half if the numbers continue to pile. If the men can get a little more accurate with their shots, I think they definitely could turn this game around. Whether that happens or not is another question, one we’ll have to wait and see what the answer is.

8:42: Pattillo makes his return known with and immediate Alley-oop. Hawks miss the first chance but get a second opportunity. Quarles makes his return known in turn with a nice layup. Crosgile gets the rebound on the other side, and Galloway makes sure the crowd knows he’s back with a deep 2. Quarles gets a defensive board, but a mishandle leads to a Dickerson 3. WKU up by 11.

8:45: Hilliard sinks another deep 2, and Galloway gets a turnover. Crosgile misses a 3, and Dickerson hits yet another 3.

8:47:Another mishandle, another WKU dunk. This time thanks to Peters, who absolutely posterizes (see what I did there?) the Hawks yet again.

8:54: The Hawks have two opportunities and miss both, and Pettigrew gets two more. Quarles does come back for two more, but Pattillo is just a beast and gets two back. WKU up 62-46.

8:55: Pettigrew gets two, and Galloway gets a basket plus potentially one more. Let me give you an idea of what it’s like here: before the Galloway basket, the cheerleaders made the most noise  on the drive.

8:57: WKU is too much. Karusch adds two on a layup, and Roberts gets fouled on the other end, and makes one of two.

8:59: Karusch may have just planted the dagger. A deep 3 makes it 69-50, and Hilliard gets an offensive foul.  Three more here and… oy vey.

9:00: Jamal Crook gets a foul called on him and the Hawks will have the ball. If the situation could get any worse, the Hawk just got hit with a Basketball by the ref.

9:03: WKU fouls Tay, who shoots one after a basket, which he makes to make it 69-53 Hawks. Todd O’Brien gets fouled, and Dixon is up to shoot two. He misses both, but McDonald gets two anyway after a Crosgile miss.

9:06: Tay Jones makes two foul shots, but Pattillo fires right back. Hilliard misses the easy layup, and Pattillo gets the bucket and the foul on the other end. The Extra point makes it a 21 point lead for the Hilltoppers.

9:07: The Hawks couldn’t make a shot if they tried at this point. No one is on-point, and WKU is making sure the Hawks pay for every mistake.

9:09: Can I get a rebound? Galloway gets a dunk to fire up the crowd, but it may be too late. The crowd is fired up, but the score just isn’t getting any closer. Quarles picks up his fourth foul on the day, and McDonald sinks a 3 on the reset. Hilliard gets two, but it only makes it a 22 point lead now.

9:12: Pattillo adds two to his line for the day, and then Aiken gets called on the offensive foul. 83-59 WKU.

9:16: A three makes the Hawks in danger of a 30 point deficit. A layup makes it 29. As expected, there go the students.

9:18: Did I mention Western Kentucky is dominating?

9:20: WKU gets called on the travel, Jones misses the 3, misses two more shots, and the Hilltoppers have the ball. They miss the 3, and Tay gets his two points. As per usual, Kerusch gets his 3. 93-63 WKU.

9:24: Ron Roberts gets a basket and a foul. Misses the and-one but WKU pushes the ball out of bounds. Galloway gets a three, and the Hawks have the ball after a travel. Kerusch gets yet another 3, and Crosgile answers with a layup. Pattillo then answers that with another 2, and they have the ball again.

9:28: That’ll about do it for this game. Final score 98-70. Hey at least it wasn’t 100. For postgame and a preview of next game, check the print edition of the Hawk. I’m Tom Hagan, and I’ve written about 9 pages on this night. This is me signing off.

Umpires this year have taken warnings too far.

Last week when Yankee Left-fielder Brett Gardner went hard into second base injuring Carlos Guillen, I was expecting some retaliation from Detroit. Two games later Gardner was hit leading off the game, rising suspicions that it was intentional. Honestly if it was on purpose then hats off to Detroit pitcher Jeremy Bonderman. He was protecting his teammate. The only thing that peeved me about it was he hit Brett in the leg. Hit the man in the back. Never aim to low or too high. That is what baseball is about. I know people hate to hear that, but I’m sorry that’s baseball. The players police themselves. Gardner hurts Guillen, he gets hit, end of discussion and we go on to playing baseball. But the umpires, by issuing all these warnings, take that aspect of the players policing themselves out of the game. I have no problem with umpires warning both benches to prevent a bean-ball war. But all I and fans ask is use common sense when issuing them. Surprisingly in that Yankee game Yankee pitcher Chad Gaudin hit Miguel Cabrera who had homered twice and a warning already issued, but Gaudin was not ejected.

As I write this, a warning in the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles game was issued after Alex Rios got hit with two outs and a runner on second. With the O’s still in the game, there is no intention of hitting Rios in that spot. But a warning was issued anyway. All umpires have to do is use common sense. They have been in baseball long enough to know when it is just a pitcher pitching inside or not. People get hit, that is baseball. Pitchers have to throw inside to command the plate. I have seen it too many times this year, umpires issuing warnings when they are not warranted. Once a warning is issued it cannot be rescinded and it makes the umpires job harder. If a batter gets hit or a pitch is inside they have to play mind-reader. Was it intentional or was it just a pitch that got away? So umpires, lets not always jump the gun and slow down with the warnings and lets just play baseball.

Now for some news around the Bigs:

I have one question for the Seattle Mariners: What were you thinking? They gave up Brendan Morrow for Brandon League and a pick. Now, League is having a pretty good year (63 IP, 2.84 ERA). But League is a reliever who doesn’t have the potential Morrow has nor does he have the stuff Morrow has. How do you give up on someone who has the stuff Morrow has. I watched him make professional, all-star quality players look horrible. In his last fifteen innings against the two best teams in baseball, the Yankees and the Rays, Morrow has given up two runs, five hits, and has a whopping twenty-nine strikeouts. His stuff is top quality and should factor into the Jay’s future for their rotation. I bet Seattle wants a do-over on that one.

This week two big name players, Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez, were rumored to go on waivers. Damon has already hit waivers, while Manny is still waiting.  These two former all-stars can play a huge role in the pennant race. Damon can still hit and can be a productive player in the two hole in a lineup. He was claimed by his former team, the Red Sox on Tuesday, but he rejected the claim to stay in Detroit. Manny is the wildcard in this pennant race. If he is claimed by the White Sox or Rays for example, who knows what he can do. If he gets out of LA and into a race we could see a similar Manny that we saw when he went to LA after leaving the Red Sox. Just to jog your memory, Manny in 53 games in 2008 with LA hit .396 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI’s. Inject anything like that into a lineup like the Rays, White Sox, or Yankees and the whole pennant race is changed.

Quick notes on those Yankees. Without A-Rod this year the Yankees are 13-1. Now that is just a statistic , there really is nothing behind that. But what is not just a stat is Robby Cano is really stepping up in A-Rod’s absence. He is closing in on his first career 30 home run campaign. Someone is going to get a nice pay day in the off-season. In other news, Javy Vaszquez’s struggles have now led him to the bullpen. Rookie Ivan Nova will take his spot in the rotation. This is a scary thought for Yankee fans because after CC Sabathia, the Yankees have Phil Hughes who is on a inning limit, a struggling A.J Burnett, journeyman Dustin Mosely, and Nova in their rotation. Now with Andy Pettite’s return pushed back even further, it seems Mosely and Nova will pitch big innings in the Bronx this fall.