PHILADELPHIA, PA. 11/9/2018 – Opening night for Saint Joseph’s on Hawk Hill for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. It was a split as the men won the season opener defeating Old Dominion University. In the opener the Temple Owls defeated Saint Joe’s in the initial Big Five game for both teams. Let’s see what happened.
Women’s Basketball
Temple 58 Saint Joseph’s 52
The opening game of the year was a Big Five battle for the Hawks. When Saint Joe’s and Temple meet on the court, feathers fly. This was no exception.
The score was tied with just under seven minutes to play. The Owls went on a 7 – 0 run keyed by Desiree Oliver. As they did throughout the game the Hawks battled back getting to within 54 – 52. Forced to go to the line Temple made 4 of 6 free throws while not allowing a point.
At the beginning of the game the Owls ran off 9 straight points. The young Hawks did not fold and had the game tied at 27 each at halftime.
In the end the rebounding strength of Temple was too much taking a 45 – 32 edge off the boards. More so, the 15 – 4 advantage in second chance points titled the game in the Owls direction.
Temple welcomed back guard Alliya Butts who missed last year due to injury. Butts 12 points and handed out 2 assists in over 34 minutes of play. Oliver had a team-high 15 points and led the squad in rebounds with 9.
Katie Jekot, who also missed last season due to injury, scored a game-high 16 points for the Hawks making 4 of 9 three-pointers. Alyssa Monaghan had 14 points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds, all team-bests.
Temple improves to 2 – 0 on the season and is 1 – 0 in city series play. Saint Joe’s is 0 – 1 in both.
Men’s Basketball
Saint Joseph’s 79 Old Dominion 64
This game featured up and down offense. The Hawks like to play that way and Coach Phil Martelli likes his team’s offensive play. Even with some missed layups Saint Joe’s put 79 points on the board. They shot 48.1% and made 10 of 21 three-pointers while turning the ball over 8 times. ODU went 23 of 62 from the floor and connected on 11 of 28 threes.
Forward Pierfrancesco “Checco” Oliva contributed in a big way scoring 17 points and grabbing 14 rebounds while handing out 2 assists. He can play many positions which adds to the Hawks versatility. Oliva was a game-best plus-18. Forward Charlie Brown scored a team-high 20 points hitting 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. Lamarr Kimble, playing his first game after missing last year due to injury, connected for 14 points and 3 assists. Freshman guard Jared Bynum scored 14 points in his first collegiate game.
Ahmad Caver scored a game-high 22 points for the Monarchs making 7 of 18 field goal attempts. He was credited with 6 assists. B.J. Stith snared 11 rebounds and contributed 10 points.
Saint Joseph’s had a 42 – 39 halftime lead. The Crimson and Gray opened the second half with a 12 – 2 run that gave them control of the game. ODU cut the gap to 7 with just under 6 minutes on the clock, but Brown and Bynum made back-to-back threes to stunt the visitor’s momentum. The lead was never under 10 for the remainder of the game.
Next up for Saint Joseph’s is Monday at Monmouth.
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