
After Halil Kanacevic picked up his fifth foul early in overtime, the Hawks began to look a bit lost, as Connecticut took over on their way to an 89-81 victory.
The two teams would trade leads over the next few minutes before the Hawks began to gain some momentum. Shooting an impressive 56 percent in the half, Saint Joseph's would grow its lead to as much as 10 before heading to the locker room with a 40-35 lead.
Langston Galloway would lead the charge for the Hawks in the first half, scoring 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while DeAndre' Bembry and Roberts pitched in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Huskies would close in on the Hawks early in the second half, hitting two consecutive threes to pull within one. Connecticut would continue its charge, making a basket and the accompanying foul shot to take a 55-53 lead.
Saint Joseph's would respond with a 9-2 run to take a 62-57 lead, but were unable to build much of a cushion. With just 39 seconds remaining and the Huskies trailing 70-67, Amida Brimah drove the lane for the basket and the foul, making the free throw to tie the game and force overtime.
Just more than a minute into overtime, DeAndre Daniels would drive the lane making the layup, while also drawing a foul on Halil Kanacevic, his fifth. With Kanacevic out of the game, the Huskies began to build their lead, winning in the end by a score of 89-81 to end the Hawks' season, their best in a decade.
"The team changes a lot. I mean, he definitely is one of our main ball handlers. He does it all," Galloway said of Kanacevic. "It hurt us at the end with him not being on the court, but us as seniors wanted to step up and try to make some things happen, but it didn't go our way."
Seniors Langston Galloway, Ronald Roberts Jr. and Halil Kanacevic each finished their respective career with strong performances. Galloway led all scorers with 25 points, while Roberts recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Kanacevic finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds, and DeAndre' Bembry and Chris Wilson finished with 16 and 12 points, respectively, to put each member of the Hawks' starting lineup in double figures.
"We have a message on the wall in our locker room, we put the message on the blackboard before every game, and then we say it, 'Act like a champion.' I just told the team, that's exactly what they did for 45 minutes, and really what they've done since June," an emotional Phil Martelli said after the game.
By: Kyle Babcock
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