Coach Martelli sets school record for career wins

With Saint Joseph's men's basketball team's win over Morgan State, 81-50, on Dec. 28, 2011 at Hagan Arena, head coach Phil Martelli set the school record for most wins. Bill Ferguson, head coach of the Hawks from 1928 to 1953, placed the marker high with 309 wins. However, in only 17 seasons, Martelli has achieved an impressive 310-212 record. With this accomplishment, Martelli's name is now among the eminent group of Saint Joe's basketball coaches like Jack Ramsay, Jack McKinney and Jim Boyle.

In an interview with St. Joe's Athletics Department, Martelli explained, "Just to have the opportunity to coach 522 games at Saint Joseph's University with those names, like Ferguson and Ramsay and McKinney, you can't beat that."

This is a season for breaking records and making memories for St. Joe's men's basketball. This season in Hagan Arena the team achieved a new school record with 17 blocked shots against Drexel, and also defeated Big Five Villanova. Coach Martelli's 310^th win was no exception to the impressive season.

Leading 44-26 at halftime, SJU set the pace for the rest of the game at the buzzer when Jones hit a three pointer.

The Hawks shot 51.6 percent in the game. Carl Jones, ‘13, had a total of 16 points; Ronald Roberts, ‘14, scored 15; while Langston Galloway, ‘14, and Chris Wilson, ‘15, scored 10. Halil Kanacevic was two assists shy of the school record for assists while having a career high of seven blocks and eight rebounds.

According to Martelli in an interview with St. Joe's Athletics Department, "The win to me was a result of the character of these guys. Even though they are young, they had four days off. We came back on Monday and they were into it right away. They were energetic, they were talking to each other, they were looking forward to being together again. We had a great workout Monday night and a real good workout on Tuesday. So on a personal note, they deserve credit."