5-10 Hawks Hit the Road

This time last week, Saint Joseph's, with a 5-8 record, looked to start conference play on a strong note. With the first two games in Atlantic 10 play at home, and both games against what appeared to be beatable opponents, things looked up for the young Hawks. Instead, the 5-10 Hawks begin conference play 0-2, and now head to Dayton and Saint Louis this week. The Hawks will likely be solid underdogs in both games, and an 0-4 start to conference play appears to be a legitimate reality. However, nothing this season appears predictable in the A10. The same UMass team that was absolutely hammered by Central Connecticut State defeated Dayton today 55-50.

Yesterday, at the Hagan Arena, the Hawks fell to the George Washington Colonials 78-71. GW scored 40 first-half points against the Hawks, further illuminating the struggles the young team is having on the defensive side of the ball. Those struggles exist even though freshman CJ Aiken continues to block shots at an alarming rate. CJ had 9 recorded blocks in yesterday's loss. After yesterday's performance, CJ is tied for 2nd in the country in blocked shots per game at 3.8 per contest. George Washington shot 56 percent from three in the win, hitting on 9 of 16 shots. That, combined with a 43-28 edge on the boards, helped GW to the road win. GW is now 2-0 in conference play, while the Hawks drop to 0-2.

They look ahead to a tough road game on Wednesday night at 7 against Dayton.