The Hawk Is... Still Alive!

               Saint Joseph's narrowly escaped having their disappointing season come to an end tonight in a 58-57 win over Xavier in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.  With the help of a suspect shot-clock violation call against the Musketeers in the waning seconds of the game, the Hawks got one last chance to take the lead.
After struggling to find a shot, Langston Galloway was fouled with 1.4 seconds left and went on to hit both free throws to give the Hawks the lead and the win.  After a missed layup by the Musketeers as time expired, the Hawks collected their win and moved on to the second round.  Poor shooting plagued the Hawks early, but they kept the game close with multiple lead changes and entered the locker room at halftime with a 28-25 lead.  Saint Joseph's emerged from the locker room to play flat to start the second half and found themselves trailing by 8 at 41-33.  The Hawks slowly clawed their way back and traded leads with the Musketeers before taking the final lead with less than 2 seconds remaining.  While it wasn't the cleanest game for the Hawks, they played scrappy to keep their season alive.
                The Hawks effort was led by Galloway, whose free throws with 1.4 seconds left gave Saint Joseph's the lead.  Galloway score 14 points on the game while also grabbing 5 rebounds and shooting 66% from the field and 100% from the charity stripe.  Halil Kanacevic was a major contributor for the Hawks as he did a little bit of everything on the game, scoring 11 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, and dishing out 8 assists.  Senior Carl Jones lives to see another game in his career after scoring 11 points and adding 4 assists in the game.  While it wasn't the prettiest of games and may have raised more than a few Saint Joseph's and Xavier fans' blood pressure, a win is a win come tournament time.  The Hawks now advance to face 2nd seeded and 25th ranked VCU in the quarterfinals tomorrow.  While the Hawks are the clear underdog in the game, anything can happen in March, that is after all the reason it is called March Madness.  So will the Hawks make a Cinderella run through the A-10 Tournament and into the NCAA Tournament?  Or will the clock strike midnight on a disappointing Hawks season tomorrow?  Only time will tell, so sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the madness.  The Hawk is Still Alive!