PHILADELPHIA — Carl Jones scored 24 points and C.J. Aiken scored 13 as Saint Joseph’s defeated Harvard, 75-56, at Hagan Arena to improve to 3-1 on the season. Harvard evens its record to 2-2.
Jones connected on 8-for-11 from the field and handed out five assists. The senior came off the bench and scored 18 of his points in the first half as the Hawks took control from the opening tip. SJU never trailed in the game and ran up a 10-point lead, 13-3, in the first six minutes on a three-pointer by Jones, one of four he made in the game.
The Hawks continued on a 14-4 run, led by two threes from Jones, and built the lead to 27-9 with 8:33 to play. Saint Joseph’s went up by 20 points for the first time at 6:36, 31-11, on a jumper by Jones, and the Hawks took a 41-23 lead into the lockerroom at halftime, shooting 53.1 percent from the field in the half.
It was more of the same in the second half as the Hawks led 52-30 at 13:52 and then went on an 18-0 run, which included an emphatic dunk by Ronald Roberts, to take a 70-30 lead with 8:18 remaining.
Harvard snapped an 0-for-11 string of missed three-pointers to make four consecutive and go on a 21-5 run to cut the deficit to 75-51 with 2:52 remaining.
“I told the team after Saturday night that good teams don’t lose twice in a row and that good teams don’t take plays off. Seek perfection. You’re not going to get there, but seek it. And build from there,” said Hawk coach Phil Martelli. “It was plays that we left out there but we were the older, more experienced, and more balanced team.”
The Hawks finished the game with 23 assists on 30 baskets and just seven turnovers committed. Harvard was forced into 18 turnovers by the SJU defense.
Kanacevic had another solid stat line with nine points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Chris Wilson handed out six assists in his fourth straight start at point guard. Freshman Isaiah Miles scored a season-high eight points.
The Hawks get a week-long break before returning to action on November 28 when they host American.
Leave a Reply