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Broad Street Beat

Bembry Guides Saint Joseph’s Past Saint Louis

2/28/2016

DeAndre’ Bembry has seen plenty of ups and downs in his three years on Hawk Hill. From being a freshman starter on the 2013-2014 Atlantic Champion Hawks to suffering through a 13-18 season a year ago.

Bembry has put up impressive numbers since first coming to Saint Joseph’s, but found himself as the team’s lone threat a year ago. The difference one year can make can be astounding, as many Saint Joseph’s fans have now found out.

With a roster that is largely the same from one season ago, the Hawks have done a full 180, amassing a 23-5 record entering Sunday’s contest against Saint Louis.

After 40 minutes of play, it would be a familiar scene for Hawks fans as Bembry filled the stat sheet. But with teammates that have improved vastly from a season ago, the end result was different than 2014-2015. Bembry finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists to propel the Hawks to a 77-63 win, their 24th of the season.

“We played a lot of close games last year, but we lost most of them,” Bembry said. “Losing definitely helped us this year to try and win some more games. We’ve been winning most of the year. We’re confident.”

Temple Survives Against UCF

2/27/2016

Temple’s up and down season continued Saturday at the Liacouras Center.

Following a disappointing road loss to Tulsa earlier in the week, the Owls looked to get back on track against a subpar UCF squad. Like many games this season, however, it would be a bit more difficult than expected for Temple.

After taking a two-point halftime lead, the Owls would find themselves tied with the Knights in the waning seconds of the contest. With the shot clock winding down, Quenton DeCosey would fire a three with just 32 seconds remaining.

The shot wouldn’t fall, but fortunately for the Owls, Josh Brown came up with the offensive rebound, allowing them to get the last shot.

The ball would again be put in the hands of DeCosey, a senior and Temple’s leading scorer. This time he wouldn’t miss. With just 3.1 seconds left, DeCosey got the jumper to go, giving Temple the lead and a 63-61 win over UCF.

“He’s earned it,” Temple Coach Fran Dunphy said of putting the ball in DeCosey’s hands. “He’s earned that right. He’s been around a long time. He’s as good a scorer as we have.”

Saint Joseph's Tops UMass

2/24/2016

Saint Joseph's traveled to Massachusetts on Wednesday night looking to get back on track following a road loss to Davidson over the weekend.

The Hawks received stellar performances from Isaiah Miles and DeAndre' Bembry, who scored 20 and 18 points respectively, to guide Saint Joseph's to a 74-57 win over the Minutemen.

Brunson Guides Villanova Past Temple

2/18/2016

Many thought Jalen Brunson would land at Temple for his collegiate career. After his father, Rick Brunson, put together a successful career as an Owl and eventually played nine seasons in the NBA, many thought Jalen would follow suit.

Brunson instead chose Villanova.

On Wednesday night, he showed Temple and its fans what could have been had he chosen to suit up for the cherry and white.

Brunson poured in a career-high 25 points on 9-for-11 shooting to lead #1 Villanova to a dominant 83-67 win over Temple, clinching the Big 5 title in the process.

“It was just one of those games, where they were taking Arch away from us, they did a great job on Josh Hart and they did a good job on (Kris) Jenkins,” Villanova Coach Jay Wright said. “That’s why I think (Phil) Booth and Jalen (Brunson) really got it going. I think he (Jalen) just took the plays that came to him. I don’t think it was anything different than he normally does, I think he just got a lot of opportunities tonight.”

The Saint Joseph’s Hawks Demolish Dayton

2/17/2016

On Wednesday February 17, 2016, the #15 Dayton Flyers traveled to Saint Joseph’s. This A-10 matchup not only had bragging rights on the line, but first place in the A-10 and a potential trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Flyers entered the game without junior forward Kendall Pollard, who averages 11ppg and 5rpg. This loss forced Dayton to rely on freshman forward Sam Miller to keep offensive production high.

Temple Tops South Florida, Eyes Villanova Next

2/14/2016

Temple continued to trend upward on Sunday afternoon.

After an up-and-down start to the season, the Owls finally appeared to be finding their groove entering Sunday’s contest with South Florida, having won four in a row and seven of their past eight.

Temple would have little trouble with South Florida, leading for nearly 39 minutes in a 77-65 victory over the Bulls.

“They’re a team that had nothing to lose, so they were kind of at ease,” Josh Brown said. “We kind of knew that coming into this game. We tried to jump on them and put them away early, but they’re a resilient team. They stuck with it and we were able to come out with a victory.”

Saint Joseph’s Dominates La Salle

2/13/2016

It has been a tough season for La Salle. Suffering from injuries and having three players sitting out the season due to transfer rules, the Explorers stumbled into Saturday with a 5-18 record.

While the Explorers were at full strength – for eligible players – for the first time since December 22, things would continue to be rough for La Salle against Saint Joseph’s.

The Hawks built a 13-point cushion at the half and would continue to pile on in the second half, stretching their lead to as much as 30 in an 88-62 win over the Explorers.

“City games are very, very important to us and I thought we addressed it with a very mature approach,” Saint Joseph’s Coach Phil Martelli said. “I’m proud of these guys.”

Temple Storms Back To Top UConn

2/11/2016

After up-and-down performances to start the season, Temple entered the Liacouras Center on Thursday night looking to pick up its fourth straight win and seventh in its last eight games.

In order to do so, the Owls would need to knock off Connecticut to complete a season sweep of the Huskies.

A late run in the first half helped the Owls take a lead to the locker room, but Temple would emerge for the second half looking flat and quickly find itself trailing by double-digits. Down by 12 with 5:51 remaining in the game, Temple would begin to rally, scoring 11 straight points, including back-to-back-to-back threes, to tie the game with 1:49 to play.

The Owls would complete their comeback in the end, outscoring the Huskies 21-4 over the final 5:38 to pick up a 63-58 win and improve to 15-8 on the season and 9-3 in conference play.

“I think (Connecticut’s) defense is tremendous,” Temple Coach Fran Dunphy said. “We were dead in the water. We didn’t score but 11 points or so in the first 15 minutes of the second half. That’s pretty poor offense. Somehow, we figured out a way to get it to the rim. I thought Jaylen (Bond) had a couple really tough follows and that helped us a lot as well.”

Temple Completes Comeback for OT Win Against Tulsa

2/4/2016

Temple’s perseverance was on full display Thursday night at the Liacouras Center.

In the midst of a season that has been somewhat of a rollercoaster at times, the Owls appeared to be staring down defeat late in Thursday’s contest with Tulsa.

After trailing by as much as 12 in the second half, Temple would battle back down the stretch, but still find itself trailing by five with just 25 seconds remaining in regulation. The Owls would clearly have a bit of luck on their side, as Tulsa missed two 1-and-1 opportunities in the span of a few seconds, opening the door for Devin Coleman to knock down a game-tying three with just three seconds remaining to force overtime.

Despite not leading for a single second in the second half, the Owls would go on to pick up an 83-79 overtime victory, improving to 13-8 on the season and 7-3 in conference play.

“This was big to kind of pick us up and get back into it,” Obi Enechionyia said. “Especially with how we were down and how we were struggling. Any time you can come back and win a game like that in the last few seconds, that’s a big win.”

Saint Joseph’s Stumbles in Loss to St. Bonaventure

2/3/2016

Saint Joseph’s entered Hagan Arena Wednesday night in the midst of a seven game winning streak and looking to garner the national attention many feel the Hawks deserved after starting the season 18-3 and 7-1 in conference play.

By the end of the night, the Hawks saw their resume and NCAA Tournament hopes take a bit of a hit, however.

Led by a 31-point effort from sophomore guard Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure would top Saint Joseph’s 83-73, handing the Hawks just their fourth loss of the season.

“Credit to St. Bonaventure,” Saint Joseph’s Coach Phil Martelli said. “I just told my team, the better team won tonight. We’ll walk with our heads down today and then tomorrow we have to come back and be better.”