Saint Joseph's Season Comes to a Close

               Saint Joseph's fell to VCU by a score of 82-79 to bring a disappointing season to a close.  The Hawks season that began with such high aspirations truly fizzled out.  While the score looks close, VCU dominated for the majority of the game.  The "Havoc" VCU created overwhelmed the Hawks early and often, and the Rams took a 33-23 lead into the half.
The second half was much of the same, as VCU shot the lights out to build a big lead.  With just over two minutes remaining, the Rams led by 15 points, that's when something finally clicked for the Hawks.  Saint Joseph's suddenly came to life in the final moments, and looked as if they weren't ready to let the season end.  The Hawks got a few defensive stops, some missed free throws from the Rams, and a couple timely three's to raise the blood pressure of Shaka Smart and VCU.  Saint Joseph's found themselves down 4 with ten seconds remaining in the game, and little hope, when VCU slammed one home to extend their lead to six.  Just like that the Hawks season came to an end, although Papa Ndao did hit a buzzer-beater three to cut the final deficit to just 3 points.  In the end, the 25th ranked Rams proved to be just too much for the Hawks, but it was nice to at least see the Hawks put up a fight at the end against a very good team.

                 For the game, Saint Joseph's was led by senior guard Carl "Tay" Jones, who had 29 points on 8-16 shooting from the field, and 10-13 shooting from the charity stripe.  The late rally by the Hawks was fueled by Jones who suddenly went on a scoring rampage as he appeared to not be ready to have his career come to an end.  Jones is 3rd all-time in scoring for the Hawks after passing Ahmad Nivins in last nights contest, and it was nice to see him leave everything on the court tonight.  Jones helped lead the Hawks out of a few very dark years, and through ups and downs, was always good for some excitement.  The Hawks also received a big contribution from Langston Galloway who scored 25 points and was also instrumental in the late rally.  Halil Kanacevic scored 11 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and had 7 assists.  While this was a solid all-around game, Kanacevic really needs to grow up and concentrate more on the game at hand if he wants to improve.  Like much of the season, Kanacevic chose to do a fair amount of showboating, taunting the VCU student section early and doing push ups after being fouled.  By next season, Kanacevic really needs to grow up, or the Hawks need to find someone else to take his place.  So after a disappointing season, and a heartbreaking loss, the Hawks 2013 season comes to a close.  I would like to thank Carl Jones for four great years, countless memories, and leaving it all on the court tonight.  I wish you nothing but the best of luck in all your future endeavors.  Remember, THE HAWK WILL NEVER DIE!