Hitting rewind on the 2014 and 2016 men’s basketball championships

For the first time in program history, Saint Joseph’s University men’s basketball has a class that can claim to be two-time Atlantic 10 champions. The Classes of 2016 and 2017 now boast rings from the 2014 and 2016 championships.

St. Joe’s defeated Virginia Commonwealth University by a score of 65-61 in 2014. Langston Galloway, ’14, led all scorers with 19 points. The season closed with a controversial overtime loss to the eventual champions in the University of Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

St. Joe’s defeated VCU again, this time by a score of 87-74 in 2016. Brendan Casper and Javon Baumann, both juniors at the time, along with the Class of 2016, became the only Hawks in history to decorate a second finger with a championship ring.

The Hawks made it one round further in the NCAA tournament this time around. In the first round, Isaiah Miles, ’16, hit a three from the wing to put the Hawks up two points against the University of Cincinnati with 7.3 seconds remaining. The Hawks held on for the win and advanced to play Oregon University in the second round of the tournament, where their season came to an end.

“They have a wonderful team character, and they have been like this since August,” Martelli said to SJU Athletics of his squad following the win.  “They went step-by-step and let us coach them.  It’s a special achievement for that group, especially for the older guys.”

The Hawk family extends their gratitude and appreciation to two-time Atlantic 10 champions Brendan Casper and Javon Baumann.