Philadelphia, PA – The Saint Joseph’s Hawks (SJU) improved to a 4-2 record after defeating the Sacred Heart Pioneers (SHU), 64-55.
Saint Joeseph’s played from the front all game and never gave up the lead. However, that does not mean it wasn’t a close one. SHU fought the entire way, answering many of the scoring runs SJU went on.
Speaking of runs, today’s matchup was a game with no rhythm or flow. Instead, it was a battle of runs as Sacred Heart and Saint Joe’s traded traunches of points back and forth.
Back and Forth
Saint Joseph’s started the game on an early ten-point run to set the tone. However, SHU quickly batteled back to score nine unanswered points. Following that, the Hawks then went on a second run jumping to a 31-20 lead with two minutes remining in the first half. They would close out the first half with a 34 to 22 lead.
The second half was no different than the first, Saint Joseph’s improved to a 22-39 lead at the 18:50 mark of the second half, only for SHU to close within 44 to 39 in the following eight minutes. Again, a volley of back and forth runs for both teams.
However, Saint Joe’s was able to cash in one more big run than the Pioneers, pushing to a ten-point lead with five minutes to go. With time quickly running down it was a gap just big enough to keep SHU at an arms legnth. SJU would go on and clinch the hard-fought win to end their two-game losing streak.
Highlight Performances
Saint Joseph’s had three players in double digits in today’s game. Cameron Brown finished with 16 points. While Rasheer Flemming and Erik Reynolds both had 12 each. Brown was a major source of scoring for the team, hitting multiple three-point shots when it mattered. Many of his threes helped to spur the scoring runs mentioned above.
Areas of Improvemnet, AKA, Issues.
In the end, this was a decent win for Saint Joe’s. Like U-Penn, SHU is in the low 200s on Kenpom. It’s not a win that will make or break a bid, but a good bounce back to help correct the ship after a terrible loss to Texas A&M commerce. So, in my unimportant, unprofessional, and amateur viewpoint, a win is a win. But, that doesn’t mean there are not issues that need to be addressed.
SJU struggled in the paint, scoring only 22 points. This was only eight more than their points off turnovers (15). In addition, they still rely too much on the three, shooting 11-33. Note, they only shot 52 total shots.When we simplify that 33/52 fraction it reveals an astonishing 63% of the Hawk’s shots coming from beyond three. That is outrageous, especially considering that percentage was around 69% until the final few minutes of the game.
I am going to be releasing a broader analysis of SJU that looks back at the last two weeks of play. It will be a deeper dive into what this team does well and it what it struggles with. However, I need to speak my mind quickly on this. The three-point shooting is going to be an untenable strategy. What gave SJU some flashes of improvement last year were the combination of outside scoring paired with Obinna’s limited, but reliable, bag of moves in the paint. In addition, Obinna facilitated a much stronger pick and roll, giving Reynolds way more opportunities inside, something we haven’t seen that much this year. This team needs to get better scoring inside, and alot of that will rely on the improvement of Freshman Redshirt Center Christ Essandoko.
Up Next
Saint Joe’s is scheduled to play Villanove this Wednesday, 11/29 at 6:30pm EST. The game will be played at the Pavilion and is schedule to air on FS1.
