Men’s basketball struggles to break losing streak
The Saint Joseph’s University men’s basketball team lost their eighth straight game by 1 point against the Saint Louis University Billikens on Feb. 25. The Hawks lost a double-digit lead in another heartbreaking defeat.
“We’re really just trying to improve every day,” said senior captain Brendan Casper. “We understand that we have to battle every night and we have a short deck of guys. We’re just trying to get a win, and then you never know what happens next week in Pittsburgh [in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament]. That’s the best part. When you’re in Pittsburgh, everyone’s 0-0 at that point, so it’s a fresh start.”
St. Joe’s led by as many as 13 points during the game and held a 58-53 lead with under three minutes left in the game. However, the Billikens were able to rattle off eight consecutive points. A 3-pointer from St. Louis’ senior Mike Crawford put the team ahead by one and a layup then gave the Billikens a three-point cushion with just 23 seconds remaining. The Hawks managed to make one more layup before time expired, but nothing else.
“We’ve got guys in positions and for whatever reason they felt uncomfortable,” Head Coach Phil Martelli told SJUHawks.com. “We stopped processing. We didn’t think. We gave up a layup down one with no time left on the shot clock. Then obviously there’s the last play of the game.”
The Hawks shot 16-for-29 from the foul line. All across the game, they were in situations where they’re not comfortable, according to Martelli.
The struggles from the free throw line are nothing new for St. Joe’s. On the season, the Hawks have shot 65.2 percent on foul shots. Their opponents have been successful on 72.8 percent of their free throws. Against St. Louis, the Hawks shot 55.2 percent on free throws, leaving 13 points at the line. The Billikens shot 63 percent, leaving just seven points.
St. Joe’s dug themselves into an early hole, falling behind 12-1 within the first six minutes of the game. From there, the deficit remained at least seven for about the next 10 minutes of game play. Finally, with just over a minute to go in the half, the Hawks tied the game at 22-22 and owned a 25-22 lead headed into halftime.
After outscoring St. Louis 49-25 from the time they trailed 12-1 until their 13-point lead in the second half, a run that spanned close to 25 minutes, the Hawks struggled going 3-8 from the floor and 4-7 from the free throw line.
“We’ve been in this situation numerous times this year,” Casper said. “We’re up 10, we’re up eight, we’re up 13 with about seven [or] eight minutes left. We just happen to have a couple bad turnovers, some missed free throws, a couple bad defensive missed assignments and we just kind of give it away. It’s disappointing because we work so hard to get to that point and then we just let it go.”
The Hawks will look to break their losing streak at home on March 1 at 7 p.m. against Rhode Island University in what will be their final home game this year. St. Joe’s will honor their senior captains Casper and Javon Baumann.
“Our last night playing at Hagan Arena − it’s definitely going to be a lot of emotions running through my mind and I’m sure through Javon’s as well,” Casper said. “It’s been a great ride and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. Definitely, you don’t want to go out on a losing streak like this, but for me, I’m just going to cherish every moment of it. It would mean a lot for us, for the team, for myself, for the coaches to finish with a win at Hagan.”
The Hawks will play for more than just their seniors, however.
“We’re going to be ready to play and compete,” Casper said. “We remember they [Rhode Island] beat us by 30 at their place earlier in the year. We have a bad taste in our mouth from that, so hopefully we can come and compete and play hard in our last game for the home fans who have supported us all year.”
