Courtesy of SJUHawks.com
PHILADELPHIA – DeAndre’ Bembry had 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead five players in double figures as Saint Joseph’s knocked off #15/13 Dayton, 79-70, before a standing-room only crowd at Hagan Arena.
With the win, Saint Joseph’s (22-4; 11-2 A-10) is now in a three-way tie for first place in the Atlantic 10 with Dayton (21-4; 11-2) and VCU (19-7; 11-2).
Isaiah Miles added a double-double scoring 12 points in the second half, while grabbing 12 rebounds for the Hawks, who have won four in a row and 11 of their last 12. Senior Aaron Brown scored 14 points and freshman Lamarr Kimble matched his career-high with 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting and handed out five assists. Sixth man James Demery scored 12 points on a 4-for-7 effort from the field. It marked the eighth double-double of the season for both Bembry and Miles.
It was the first ranked team beaten by the Hawks since March 16, 2014, when SJU defeated #23 VCU to win the Atlantic 10 Championship. It was the highest ranked team beaten on campus since the Hawks defeated #8 Xavier, 71-66, on March 6, 2008 in the final game for Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.
Leading 36-27 at the half, Saint Joseph’s built it up to a double-digit margin, 40-30, in the first two minutes. After Dayton cut it to 46-39 on a three-pointer by Smith, the Hawks went on an 8-1 run, highlighted by a slam by Demery off a lob from Kimble, followed by a backdoor layup by Miles from Bembry to inflate the lead to 54-40 and raised the decibel level of the packed house.
Dayton used a pair of threes by Darrell Davis and a layup by Steve McElvene to come within 56-48, but the Hawks answered as Kimble connected on a three-pointer and found Demery for a backdoor layup to push SJU’s lead to 63-50 at 7:40.
The Flyers had another run in them as they outscored SJU, 9-3, with five points from Charles Cooke to come within, 66-61, at 3:49, but Kimble again came through, finding Miles for a layup and hitting a pair of free throws to build Saint Joseph’s margin back to 70-61. And although Dayton cut its margin to 70-63 at2:42, Bembry slammed home an offensive rebound to provide the exclamation point on the Hawks’ win.
The Hawks jumped out to a 6-0 start, with all six scored by Brown before Dayton scored seven unanswered points. The teams then played through eight lead changes and two ties before the Hawks started to break away. Trailing 22-21, the Hawks went on a 12-2 run, started by four straight points off the bench from Kimble. Papa Ndao hit a three-pointer and then Brown and Demery followed with a pair of free throws each to give SJU its biggest lead of the half, 35-24. Bembry led the way with 10 points and six rebounds in the first half.
Saint Joseph’s puts its its nation’s best road record (9-0) to the test when it travels to Davidson on Saturday for a nationally-televised contest on the NBC Sports Network at 2 p.m.
Video
Video courtesy of Atlantic 10 Athletics.
OTHER GAMES IN THE ATLANTIC 10
La Salle 71. St. Bonaventure 64
La Salle received a balanced offensive attack and stepped up on the defensive end to defeat St. Bonaventure, 71-64, on Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena. The victory snapped a five-game win streak for the Bonnies, who came into the game in fourth place in the A-10 standings. READ MORE.
Video courtesy of La Salle Athletics.
Fordham 76 UMass 66
Defense and offense were both on display during a 27-0 first half run by the Rams that turned an 18-9 deficit into a 36-18 lead with 3:15 left in the half. READ MORE.
Video
Video courtesy of Atlantic 10 Athletics.
Saint Louis 79 George Mason 77 OT
Freshman Jermaine Bishop hit a jumper with five seconds left in overtime to give Saint Louis a 79-77 win over George Mason in Fairfax, Va. The Patriots had the final shot, but a block from Marcus Bartley on a Mason layup sealed the victory for the Billikens. READ MORE.
George Washington 81 Duquesne 74
Seniors Kevin Larsen (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Joe McDonald (14 points, all in the second half) helped trigger a 20-point swing in the final 17:29 of the contest as after GW trailed by as many as 13, the seven-point triumph marked the Colonials’ sixth road win of the season, eclipsing last season’s road output and matching their tally from the 2013-14 season which culminated with a NCAA Tournament berth. READ MORE.
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