Men's Basketball | Hawks hold off Crusaders, move to 2-0 on the season

It's hard to freeze a player with ice water running through his veins, even if he is a 19-year-old true freshman in just his second collegiate game.

That's what Holy Cross tried to do to Carl Jones, '13, with 15.4 seconds left and the Hawks up two, but the St. Joe's guard proceeded to rattle the first one home, and hit nothing but net on the second to seal a 69-67 win for the Hawks.

At the other end, Devin Brown converted a layup and went to the line with .8 seconds left, but his intentional miss hit nothing by air, and the Hawks avoided disaster on the ensuing inbounds to walk away with the win.

"We're happy to be 2-0; we're happy that we christened this building this way, but I know what's on the horizon going to play an ACC team on Friday," head coach Phil Martelli said. "I'm proud that this team didn't get distracted."

Jones led all scorers with 18, including the final eight points of the game for St. Joe's. Idris Hilliard, '11, recovered from a slow start to notch 11 despite just six field goal attempts, while Todd O'Brien, '12, added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Holy Cross was led by 17 points from Brown, and 16 from R.J. Evans. Andrew Keister also added 10 points for the Crusaders (0-2).

It took the Hawks almost seven minutes to take the lead for the first time, but they never relinquished that lead after going ahead 9-8 with 13:04 left in the first half. They stretched the lead to as much as eight in the first half, and entered the break up 37-31.

Nine Hawks logged at least six minutes in the first half, and eight of them found the scoresheet, led by eight points from O'Brien.

The Hawks' lead hovered around five most of the second half, but was erased thanks to a quick 7-0 run by the Crusaders out of the under-four minute media timeout punctuated by a Brown triple from the corner to knot things up at 63 with 2:26 left.

Jones and Andrew Beinert traded jumpers, before Beinert hacked Jones in one of his many heady drives to the basket, and sent him to the charity stripe to convert the two free throws that would put the Hawks ahead for good.

"I mean, I don't like [close games], but if it's called for, I'll do whatever I have to do to get the win," Jones said.

"This kid's got a big ticker," Martelli said. "The thing about guys at the end of games is that they have to be willing to miss a shot, not just take a shot. He's willing to do that. He's nuts really. He has always had a swagger that you would swear Bernard Hopkins just walked in the room."

The name of the game for St. Joe's (2-0) was balance. No one logged more than 30 minutes, and all nine players who got in contributed a bucket. Behind their three double-figures scorers, Chris Prescott, '12, scored nine points in his second consecutive start, while Darrin Govens, '10, and Garrett Williamson, '10, each had seven.

"The thing that really jumps out to me is that we had nine guys score," Martelli said. "Each of the guys that played had a spurt."

Prescott and Carl Baptiste, '13 were two that Martelli singled out for special recognition. Prescott had six points at the break, and looked more comfortable on the court. His two threes showed a more composed and confident stroke from behind the arc.

Baptiste's gave the Hawks a big boost off the bench, spelling Hilliard, who had just three points and two field goals attempts in the first half. He tallied his first collegiate points on a 15-foot jumper, and had an emphatic rejection on defense.

O'Brien's performance in the first half was also a huge shot in the arm. He went into the half with eight points on four of five shooting, and while his offensive production slowed as the game wore on, he managed to stay on the court despite being in foul trouble and continue to alter shots in the lane.

"It was tough," O'Brien said. "I hate getting into foul trouble because you have to play tentatively on defense. Luckily, I don't think they were looking down in the post as much in the second half. They were shooting more from the outside and driving. I tried to play smart and avoid ticky-tack fouls, and just keep my hands up."

While the overall effort was better in some respects, Martelli knows this team still has a ways to go.

"I'm not that sure it was better," he said. "I think everyone caught their breath. But it was a little too casual. There was good with bad, but we're no where near the level we need to be at."

One of the major problems was on the boards, where the Crusaders held a dominant 50-33 edge, including a 22-9 thrashing on the offensive glass. Four Crusaders had at least eight rebounds, led by Keister's 11.

It translated into a 28-13 advantage in second chance points, which was the major factor that allowed Holy Cross to stay within striking distance. They won the points in the paint battle by a 38-28 spread.

"We got walloped on the glass, and that's grave cause for concern," Martelli said. "We knew about Keister and [Eric] Meister coming in, but we allowed their guards to rebound two. It's something we're aware of and that we are going to address.

But there are still kinks to get out. Thanks in large part to the enormous rebounding disadvantage, the Hawks managed to hoist up just 57 shots to Holy Cross' 73, a number Martelli believes is still insufficient.

While the turnovers were cut down from the Drexel game-the Hawks had just 11 to go with 13 assists-Martelli is still looking for more production from his senior backcourt leaders. Williamson reduced his turnovers from eight against Drexel to four tonight, but overaggressiveness led to two offensive fouls.

Govens' shooting numbers were below Martelli's expectation, as he was just 3-14 from the field and 1-6 from behind the arc. His confidence issues are a high priority on Martelli's list of things to be fixed.

"I don't think Darrin thinks it's going in when he shoots it," Martelli said. "He's just shooting to shoot."

The Hawks head to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam Tournament. They're flying out Wednesday morning at 4 a.m., but won't play until Friday against Boston College.

For more on tonight's game, visit our Game Notes on our Hawk Sports blog at: http://hawksports.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/st-joes-holy-cross-game-notes/