Saint Joe’s Basketball: Next man steps up on Hawk Hill

Role players step up for Saint Joe’s basketball as the Hawks win their first conference game of the season over strong Davidson team.

The start to the Atlantic 10 season couldn’t have gone worse for Saint Joe’s basketball; the Hawks lost their first three games all by double digits, the first two at home at Hagan. Things would hit a low on Saturday against Duquesne when Pierfrancesco Oliva suffered a severe and gruesome knee injury, leaving some of his teammates in tears, and on Monday when news surfaced that second-leading scorer Lamarr Kimble would be out indefinitely with a broken hand. They would also lose the game in Pittsburgh to drop to 0-4 in the conference.

Saint Joe’s was already stumbling during a 2018-19 campaign that began with NCAA Tournament expectations, and they had lost significant minutes and productivity with the recent injuries. Add in the concern they now had to face about Oliva’s long-term health, and the situation on Hawk Hill had deteriorated further than anyone could’ve imagined possible.

The last team Saint Joe’s wanted to see on their schedule a game later was conference leader in Davidson. Bob McKillop’s team was coming in with a 12-4 record and hadn’t lost in Atlantic 10 play. The Wildcats also topped league-leader VCU on the same day that Saint Joe’s was dealing with the unfortunate Duquesne game. The Wildcats had become a popular pick to win the league, and Saint Joe’s had already been blown out by two of the conference’s worst teams in George Washington and St. Bonaventure.

But shorthanded Saint Joe’s, perhaps by dedicating their performance to their teammate Oliva (whose basketball career very well might be in question), or perhaps by bringing a renewed effort with guys having to step up and put more balls through the hoop in Kimble’s absence, were able to top Davidson 61-60 at Hagan Arena on Tuesday. In a tightly contested game that came down to the final possession, neither team held a lead larger than two beyond the 10:12 mark of the second half.

The difference in the low-scoring game were the guys who stepped up to fill the score sheet for a weakened Saint Joe’s team. On top of missing over 16 points per game without Fresh Kimble, Davidson limited Charlie Brown, the Hawks’ leading scorer, to 11, and big men Taylor Funk and Anthony Longpre only combined for five. But in came Chris Clover, the senior guard from Philadelphia who got the start in place of the injured Kimble. Averaging four points per game on the season, and only breaking double digits once before Tuesday’s game, Clover dropped 18 on Davidson, including the eventual game-winning three. He was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in 34 minutes on the court. Guard Troy Holston, who slid in behind Clover as the first guard off the bench, also had his season-best in points with 11, more than he had in Saint Joe’s first 16 games combined. Jared Bynum played all 40 minutes for Saint Joe’s, adding 12 of his own and dishing a game-high 9 assists.

I wrote a few days ago that Saint Joe’s’ season was virtually over. With the major injuries and issues they dealt with prior to losing so much production, I doubt I was the only one counting the Hawks out. And yes, it’s premature to say this was a turnaround game for Saint Joe’s, and it’s unfair, and perhaps unrealistic, to expect almost 30 points a game between Clover and Holston going forward, but on Tuesday night, Phil Martelli’s group showed undeniable heart and resiliency to overcome one of their toughest opponents in the Atlantic 10. And if the Hawks are going to fight through this adversity and turn their season around, there’s no better opportunity for a second step than away against preseason No. 1 (in the A10) St. Louis on Friday night. The next man is going to have to continue to step up for Saint Joe’s to salvage something out of this 2018-19 season.