By Sean Kennedy
Yesterday’s Action
Saint Joseph’s 72, Washington State 67
St. Joe’s staved off a Washington State comeback to top the Cougars and finish 2-1 in the Old Spice Classic tournament. The Hawks jumped out to a 6-point halftime lead by out-rebounding the Cougars 18-10, including 5 offensive rebounds. Washington State star DaVonte Lacy was getting his points, with 13 points at the half and finishing with a game-high 25, but he wasn’t getting much help from his teammates and the more balanced attack of the Hawks was pulling ahead.
However, a 14-4 run by Washington State gave the Cougars the lead and the two teams traded blows for much of the 2nd half. St. Joe’s trailed by as many as 6 points late in the 2nd half, but Hawks star Ronald Roberts, Jr. would not let his squad leave Orlando without another win. Roberts, Jr. finished the game with team-highs in points (21) and rebounds (10), including 10 points in the last 6 minutes of the game to bring his Hawks back from the brink of defeat. St. Joe’s always received 13 points from freshman DeAndre Bembry; coach Phil Martelli would love to receive consistent production from him to supplement the scoring efforts of Roberts, Jr. and Langston Galloway.
The next three games for the Hawks will all be against City 6 foes in Temple, Villanova, and Drexel. The Hawks’ lone two losses have been against formidable opponents in Creighton and LSU; it will be interesting to see where they stack up in the Philadelphia basketball hierarchy.
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