The Saint Joseph’s Hawks (SJU) collapsed in the second half tonight against the Saint Louis Billikens (SLU), losing 88 to 85. The Hawks, who were up 20 points in the first, were unable to guard and stop a hot Gibson Jimmerson, who went 6-7 from three in the second half and finished the game with 27 points in total. SLU’s Tim Dalger and Bradle Ezewiro also finished in double digits, scoring 15 and 12 points.
Saint Joe’s Guard Erik Reynolds II finished the game with 27 points, while his counterpart in the back court, Lynn Greer III finished with 18. Both were around .500 shooting on the night, in what was one of the only bright spots for the Hawks. As mentioned above, the first half went well for Saint Joe’s, the team had decent shot selection and kept the Billikens at an arm’s length for the first 20 minutes. However, the second half was full of poor shot selection, and atrocious defensive strategy which ultimately sank the Hawks. Saint Joe’s is now 0-2 in conference play, with losses against URI and SLU. Oh boy does that Villanova win feel like it happened years ago.
Saint Louis Did Not Quit
Embarrassingly I must admit that during the second half I began writing my recap for this game. This is something I do often. I summarize the first half and if it’s a blow out, or one team is in control, I tend to start writing an outline based on what I perceive to be the potential outcome. If SJU is up on a team by 20 with ten minutes to go, I am probably safe to say this is a Hawks win, here are some good things that happened tonight.
However, tonight I look like a total fool. I probably started my piece a tad too early, Right around when SJU was up 55-40 in the second half I began to work on the recap. But I paid the price. I got it wrong and scrapped all 700 words and rewrote the entire thing. Now, its time to give credit where credit is due. Saint Louis played a good second half and made me eat crow. And, I won’t diminish the win by placing all the blame at the feet of SJU. Saint Joe’s performance will get its reward in the next section. SLU came out at halftime, executed their plan and exposed a weakness in Saint Joe’s zone defense. They didn’t give up on themselves, and they fought back to earn a good win.
Travis Ford did his job and coached this team back into this game. Most importantly, these SLU players did the legwork to make it happen. A bright moment for a team in search of one all season.
Saint Joe’s – The Mirage
As I hinted at before, the win against Villanova feels like years ago at this point. Saint Joe’s was a team with promise and momentum. Even if you thought they weren’t the top team in the A10, they had clearly improved to what was their best stretch of games in the last six years. However, that team is long gone. You’re only as good as your last performance, and SLU and URI were not good performances.
The part that kills me the most thinking about it was SJU’s inability to switch out of the zone. They didn’t adjust and allowed SLU’s Jimmerson to roam free and find open threes. Okay, you let the guy shoot two or three and challenge him to make it. By the fourth made three its probably best to switch things around for a few possessions. The Coach has to find some way to cool the hot hand of the shooter. Sadly, no one on the SJU bench got that memo tonight. Saint Joe’s defense went from a bright spot of the last few months, to a blight.
However, like a broken record, I begrudgingly have to say that all hope is not lost for Saint Joe’s. Even though it has become exhausting defending the position of “don’t give up hope” when so many want change, which I empathize with.
The simple fact is the season isn’t over. There is time to turn the ship around. Two losses in A10 play won’t kill you, but it also doesn’t do you any favors when they are against two of the easier teams you could possibly face. The only silver lining for me is that since mid Decemeber I didn’t think this team was an ‘at large’ bid candidate. Any and all success was going to have to come from great play during the conference tournament. There is still hope that it can happen. But, it has been substantially diminished.
