Hawkins, Owls No Match for Soaring Hawks

By VINCE PARAVECCHIA

The locally famous motto “The Hawk will never die” is alive and well this season on City Line Avenue. Despite a long wait, the city may have finally found a true contender for the national championship in the St. Joseph’s Hawks.
On Jan. 31, Phil Martelli’s team put together an astounding performance, setting a team and Atlantic 10 conference game record with 20 three-pointers in an 83-71 drumming of Big Five rival Temple. The Hawks broke down John Chaney’s matchup zone defense with solid shooting and the usually great leadership of point guard Jameer Nelson.
“Well, zone gives you jumpers. So, why wouldn’t you shoot threes?” said Martelli following the game.
With the win, the Hawks, ranked third in the nation in the USA Today/ESPN poll, improved to 18-0 for the season (8-0 conference). They remain one of two undefeated teams in Division I, the other being the second-ranked Stanford Cardinal.
St. Joe’s was dominant for nearly the entire game, building an early double-digit lead and holding it until there was under two minutes to play. Not even a career high 36-point effort by Owls star David Hawkins could slow the Hawks, who finished the game 20-36 from beyond the arch.
The Hawks backed the claim of many college basketball experts that they possess the nation’s best backcourt. The top five guards on the team accounted for an astounding 75 of the teams 83 total points.
“I think they’ll get better, but they’re one of the finest shooting ball clubs I’ve seen,” said Temple coach John Chaney. Earlier in the week, Chaney had become just the 16th coach in division history to record 700 career wins.
As has become almost expected, Nelson was the star of the game for the Hawks. The 5-foot-11 senior tied a team high with 21 points, including six threes, against the Owls.
Regarded as the nation’s top point guard and a front-runner for national Player of the Year honors, Nelson has already become a legend on “Hawk Hill.” Last year, the Chester native passed up the NBA draft to play one final season under Martelli. The decision has ignited the Hawks, who have become an inspiration for Philadelphia despite being a small program with minimal recruiting status.
“He is THE it (for St. Joseph’s), perhaps one of the best point guards that’s played in this city. I rank him maybe second best to Guy Rogers,” said Chaney of Nelson.
The Hawk phenom even provided the shot of the day. With under 15 minutes left, St. Joe’s wrestled away a loose ball and set up Nelson for an NBA-range three. Leaning forward, he got the shot away just as time expired, and the ball hit the back of the rim before going through. A largely Temple crowd looked stunned, but cheered Nelson on as the teams went into time-out.
When Nelson was not shooting, he was setting up teammates for one of his seven assists. Delonte West, the junior guard, delivered an equally stellar performance, going five-for-eight from three-point range for 21 points of his own.
“They did a great job of spreading and getting the ball to guys who can shoot,” said Chaney.
Hawkins proved to be the lone bright spot of Temple afternoon, who fell to 7-10 overall and 2-5 in the Atlantic 10. He accounted for 51 percent of his team’s offense and gave the Hawks shaky interior defense fits. Though a guard, the 6-foot-4 senior stood his ground against Hawks’ big men John Bryant (three points) and Dwayne Jones (five points) to finish with seven rebounds. His 13 field goals also set a new Liacouras Center record for most in a game.
“I think he’s physically a tough match,” said Martelli of Hawkins.
Along with Hawkins, young sophomore Mardy Collins inched the Owls back to a respectable finish. Temple came back from a 24-point deficit by creating turnovers and hitting a number of difficult shots. Collins had 15 of his 21 points in the second half, and helped spark a 28-11 run that shrunk the lead to as few as nine points.
“I think a little human nature kicked in, and we didn’t play well down the stretch,” Martelli said.
But the surge was nowhere near enough, as St. Joe’s perimeter ball movement was too much for the young Owls to handle. Behind a relatively low 14 turnovers, the Hawks’ guards set each other up in almost machine-like fashion. The result was a plethora of uncontested three-pointers which were delivered repeatedly.
Three Hawk players finished with five or more three-pointers in the contest. In addition to Nelson and West, less heralded guard Pat Carroll went five for 10 from three-point range on his way to 20 points. Sophomore guard Chet Stachitas came off the bench to make four threes, including a perfect three-for-three in the first half, for 12 points. Tyrone Barley (one point) was the other guard to score for St. Joe’s.
“I think our guards really dictated the game,” said West of the Hawk’s sharpshooters.
Temple did expose the Hawks lack of size throughout the game, finishing with 35 total rebounds and 38 points in the paint. Their inside players, however, could not score enough to keep the Owls in the game.
Starting forward Nehemiah Ingram and center Keith Butler had two points apiece, while sophomore Michael Blackshear had a game-high 11 rebounds but only four points. Freshmen Dion Dacons (four points) and Dustin Salisbery (two points) provided the only other points for the Owls.
St. Joe’s continues to triumph this season despite criticism that they are successful only because of a weak schedule. John Chaney believes they have potential for a memorable run in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
If this team stays healthy, they can go a long way,” said Chaney.
On Monday Feb. 2, St. Joe’s defeated Villanova 74-67, in front of a sellout crowd of 6,500.
With the win St. Joe's improved to a school-record 19-0. The Hawks are 2-0 in the Big Five.
Following Saturday’s game, Martelli was grateful for what has become a historic season in St. Joe’s basketball history.
He hopes his team will remain focused in their Feb. 2 game against Villanova and down the stretch for what could be the first undefeated regular season in men’s Division I basketball since Nevada-Las Vegas’ 1991 squad.
“To me, it’s humbling at times, to think this is what’s been created,” said Martelli.

Vincent Paravecchia is a parishioner at St. Ignatius of Antioch in Yardley. He can be reached via e-mail at: s0402002@bucks.storm.edu.