February 12, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Dionte Christmas had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Temple held off a late run by Saint Joseph’s, beating its longtime rival 61-59 in another city series thriller Thursday night.

The Owls (14-9, 6-3 Atlantic 10) needed this conference win more than the first-place Hawks and maintained their hold on fourth place in the standings. The first four spots earn the coveted bye in the A-10 tourney next month in Atlantic City, N.J.

Ahmad Nivins scored 21 points for the Hawks and got the better of Christmas in a battle of the two leading scorers in the conference. Christmas is on track for his third straight scoring title, but the personal goals can wait.

Christmas wants to lead the Owls into the NCAA tournament for the second straight season.

This one appeared over when Temple had a late 11-point lead, but that vanished in the final two minutes. The Owls missed 11 free throws in the final 2:28, letting the Hawks back in the game and nearly allowing them to pull off the comeback win.

But, the two-point game shouldn’t have been much of a surprise. This was either the 146th meeting (according to Temple) to 144th meeting (according to SJU) and each of the last five games have been decided by five or less points.

This was the first matchup for the longtime city rivals since Temple won the A-10 tournament championship game last March. The Hawks made the tournament with an at-large bid and came into the Palestra as winners of nine of 10.

Besides Nivins, the Hawks had no reliable scorer, especially on the perimeter. They hit a pair of late 3s that only gave them six total jump shots.

But it was enough to inch them back into the game.

Nivins kept Saint Joseph’s faint shot at victory alive on a dunk with 21 seconds left that cut it to 58-53. Garrett Williamson calmly made his two free throws for the Hawks and it was 59-57 with 10 seconds left.

Juan Fernandez, a 70 percent free-throw shooter, missed the first, and another packed Palestra crowd erupted at the home of the Big 5. He hit the second to make it 60-57 with 9.2 seconds left.

Williamson was fouled again with 6.2 remaining and went to the line for the 1-and-1. He made both and it was 60-59.

Fernandez then went 1-for-2 and the Hawks missed a desperation shot.

Semaj Inge had 11 points and Sergio Olmos added 10 for the Owls. Tasheed Carr scored 14 points for the Hawks.

The Owls used an 18-0 run stretched over the first and second half to build a double-digit lead. The Hawks missed 10 straight shots in the same span before going on a short spurt that pulled them within six.

Christmas hit a layup and Craig Williams hit a 3 that pushed the lead back to 11. Williams hit another arching 3 from the corner with 8:30 left for an 11-point lead.

Nivins dunked off an offensive rebound and it was 49-41 with 5:45 left.

No worries for Temple. Christmas drilled a 3 and let out a “Whoo!” as he backpedaled down court. Williamson came right down and hit a 3-pointer. It was that kind of game.

Christmas tossed up an awkward jumper trying to draw a foul and the ball banked in for a 54-43 lead.

Christmas and Inge each hit 3s during a 14-0 run and the Owls made their last six of the half to take a 29-21 lead into halftime.

Massachusetts held the lead for most of the game, but St. Joseph’s found a way to battle back to a 68-64 win.

February 4, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Ahmad Nivins had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Darrin Govens scored 14 and Saint Joseph’s dealt George Washington its 11th consecutive loss, 66-58 on Wednesday night.

Tasheed Carr added 14 points and seven assists, and Idris Hilliard had 12 points for the Hawks (13-8, 6-1 Atlantic-10), who have won eight of nine.

Rob Diggs scored 18 points and Damian Hollis 14 for the Colonials (6-13, 0-7), who have dropped 11 straight for the first time since the 1988-89 season, when they started 0-14.

George Washington, the only winless team in the conference, hasn’t won since Dec. 23, a 59-47 victory at Sacramento State.

Saint Joseph’s led 33-29 at halftime and extended its advantage to 53-38 on a dunk by Carr with 9:52 remaining.

Hollis made a layup with 2:58 left that got the Colonials within seven at 59-52.

Govens responded with a 15-foot fadeaway jumper and Nivins hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 11 with 1:53 remaining.

The Hawks shot 24-for-31 from the line, with Nivins leading the way, shooting 10-for-11.

February 1, 2009 | AP Press

DAYTON, OH — Chris Wright scored 14 points as Dayton took control early in the second half on their way to a 69-58 win over Saint Joseph’s Sunday afternoon.

Marcus Johnson hit two 3-pointers and Kurt Huelsman made a jumper just after halftime to expand Dayton’s lead to 47-34 with 16:35 to play. Saint Joseph’s (12-8, 5-1 Atlantic 10) got to within nine points when Tasheed Carr made two free throws with 10:11 left, but the Hawks couldn’t get any closer.

Johnson and Charles Little each scored 13 points for Dayton (20-2, 6-1), which has matched its best start ever and hasn’t lost at home this season.

Carr led Saint Joseph’s with 14 points, while Ahmad Nivins grabbed 13 rebounds but scored just 12 points, his season-low. Darrin Govens added 11 points.

January 28, 2009 | AP Press

RICHMOND, VA — Tasheed Carr score 21 points to lead Saint Joseph’s in a 68-58 win over Richmond on Wednesday night to stay undefeated in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Ahmad Nivins notched a double-double for the Hawks (12-7, 5-0), scoring 15 and grabbing 14 rebounds. It was his 12th double-double of the season, and his 30th straight game in double-digit scoring. Idris Hilliard added 11 points.

David Gonzalvez led the Spiders (11-9, 3-2) with 19 points. Kevin Anderson added 13 points and Kevin Smith had 10.

Richmond jumped out with a 12-5 run, but a 9-0 run midway through the opening half helped Saint Joseph’s to a seven-point lead at the break. After staying ahead for the entire second half, the Hawks hit 10 free throws in the final minute — five by Carr — to seal the win.

The Hawks have won seven straight games — a season-high.

From the Atlantic 10 Website:

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Justin Harper – Richmond
Sophomore, Forward, 6-9, 210 lbs.
Richmond, Va./Meadowbrook HS
Harper scored a career-high 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds on Jan. 21 as Richmond earned a 78-75 win over Rhode Island in its lone contest of the week…made 10-of-15 field goal attempts, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc…added a pair of blocks.

Ahmad Nivins – Saint Joseph’s
Senior, Forward, 6-9, 235 lbs.
Jersey City, N.J./St. Anthony’s HS
Nivins earns his fifth A-10 Player of the Week award after leading the Hawks to three victories while averaging 26.3 points and 14.3 rebounds…shot 25-of-34 from the field and 29-of-33 from the line…scored a career-high 34 points and pulled down 16 boards as Saint Joseph’s edged Duquesne in overtime on Jan. 21, 99-98…has registered five consecutive double-doubles…his five A-10 honors are tied with Mardy Collins (Temple – 2005) for the fourth-highest single-season total in league history.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Kenny Frease – Xavier
Freshman, Center, 7-0, 265 lbs.
Massillion, Ohio/Perry HS
Frease scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting in just 16 minutes of action on Jan. 24 as Xavier’s earned an 80-70 victory at LSU…in three wins, Frease averaged 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 42 total minutes…made 12-of-17 shots from the field.

January 24, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA. PA – Ahmad Nivins had 20 points and 17 rebounds to lead Saint Joseph’s to an 80-68 victory over city rival Penn on Saturday night.

Darrin Govens matched Nivins with 20 points for the Hawks (11-7), who won their sixth straight. Tasheed Carr scored 15 and Garrett Williamson 11 for Saint Joseph’s, which has won four straight against Penn and eight of the last 10.

Tyler Bernardini scored 15 points and led four Quakers in double figures. Jack Eggleston scored 14 points, and Brennan Votel and Harrison Gaines each had 12 for Penn (4-10).

Penn led 60-59 with 7:37 left in the game before Govens hit an 18-foot jumper that started a decisive 14-2 run for the Hawks. A layup by Garrett Williamson with 3:29 left capped the outburst that gave Saint Joseph’s a 73-62 advantage.

The Quakers led by as many as 16 points in the first half, but lost their fourth straight Big 5 game.

Penn hit 10 of its first 17 shots on the way to a 24-8 lead with 10:30 left in the first half. But the Hawks, who missed nine of their first 12 field goals, scored 21 of the next 24 points to take a 29-27 lead with 4:24 left in the opening half.

The Hawks led 37-34 at the break. Penn fell to 0-10 this season when trailing at the half.

Nivins, who had his 11th double-double of the season, opened the second half with a dunk and 6-foot jumper, and the Hawks scored 13 of the first 20 points in the half to lead 50-41 with 15:16 remaining.

Penn, helped by consecutive 3-pointers by Kevin Egee, scored 17 of the next 26 to take a one-point lead with 7:37 left, but failed to hang on.

January 21, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Idris Hilliard tapped in a missed shot at the buzzer to give Saint Joseph’s a 99-98 overtime win over Duquesne on Wednesday.

Ahmad Nivins had a career-high 34 points and grabbed 16 rebounds and Hilliard added 20 points for Saint Joseph’s (10-7, 4-0 Atlantic 10), which won its fifth in a row.

Jason Duty had a career-high 20 points and Damian Saunders also had 20 for the Dukes (12-6, 3-2), who had six players in double figures.

Nivins hit two free throws with 30 seconds left in OT to give the Hawks a 97-96 lead. But Duty hit a 3-point shot with 8 seconds to go for a 98-97 Duquesne advantage before Hilliard tipped in the game winner.

Duquesne rallied with a 24-4 run to move ahead 76-71 with 4:23 to play and the Dukes led 88-82 with 45 seconds to go in regulation. But Nivins scored 6 straight points and his two foul shots with 14.4 remaining sent the game into overtime.

 January 19,  2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Ahmad Nivins had 25 points and 10 rebounds, going 13-for-13 from the free-throw line in the second half, to lead Saint Joseph’s to a 78-69 victory over Charlotte on Sunday.

Tasheed Carr added 17 and Darrin Govens had 11 for the Hawks (9-7, 3-0 Atlantic-10), who won their season-best fourth in a row.

Nivins finished 13-of-15 from the free throw line as Saint Joseph’s hit its final 19 free throw attempts and finished 22-of-26.

Lamont Mack scored 23 points and Charlie Coley added 12 for Charlotte (5-11, 0-3), which dropped its fifth straight. Ian Andersen had 11 and DiJuan Harris contributed a career-high 11 assists.

A three-point play by Nivins gave Saint Josephs a 66-55 lead with 6:17 remaining. The 49ers responded with a 9-2 run — with four points from RaShad Coleman — to close within 68-64. They got within 70-66 on a dunk by Coley with 2:32 left, but the Hawks scored the next eight points to seal the win.

January 14, 2009 | AP Press

OLEAN, N.Y. — Ahmad Nivins scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Saint Joseph’s to a 62-51 win over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday in Atlantic 10 play.

Idris Hilliard scored a game-high 17 points for the Hawks (8-7, 2-0). Darrin Govens scored 11 points and had eight rebounds, while Tasheed Carr kicked in eight points.

Andrew Nicholson scored a team-high 12 points for the Bonnies (10-6, 1-2), whose 51 points marked a season-low. Jonathan Hall added 10 points and seven rebounds. Maurice Thomas and Chris Matthews scored nine and eight points, respectively.

The Bonnies cut the lead to four with 13:11 left to play, but Saint Joseph’s responded immediately with a 24-8 run to extend the lead to a game-high 20 points. The Bonnies never regained control as the Hawks cruised to an easy victory down the stretch.

The Hawks outrebounded the Bonnies by 20.