By Jake Copestick (@JakeCopestick)
PHILADELPHIA — Saturday afternoon’s matinee at Hagan Arena was a microcosm of the team that the Saint Joseph’s Hawks have become.
The Hawks, now 17-10 overall, and 9-5 in Atlantic 10 play, can have lulls at times offensively, but Steve Donahue’s team picks up the slack in other areas.
When the scoring wasn’t there, the Hawks found ways to pull away from Loyola-Chicago, winning 75-61 at Hagan Arena to remain in fourth place in the conference, still holding on to a double-bye spot in the A-10 tournament that tips off in Pittsburgh in a little over two weeks.
St. Joe’s defended, kept the Ramblers off the offensive glass, and didn’t turn the ball over. In a season that started off rocky, this is what the Hawks have molded themselves into.
“This is kind of our DNA right now,” Donahue proudly said. “We struggle sometimes on the offensive end, not from an execution point, but the ability to be consistent with our shotmaking. We don’t turn the ball over, we don’t give up offensive rebounds, and we really compete on the defensive end.”
Most importantly, St. Joe’s was unfazed by a mid-second-half run by the Ramblers, who cut a Hawk lead that was as high as 17 points down to four with ten minutes left, thanks to a barrage of threes after going 0-for-10 in the first half. When the Ramblers got hot, and St. Joe’s went cold shooting the ball, the Hawks found other ways to cruise to a double-digit victory.
The “A to B” mentality that Donahue has preached that turned their season around is a part of this team now: A mentality that emphasizes getting from one play to the next one, and one objective to another, without being rattled by what came before.
“Before we started our A-to-B campaign, that buried us, those runs,” Donahue recalled. “(We) did it in the first semester. I love that we don’t hang our heads when someone makes a run. We answered (Loyola’s) punch.”
After going the entire first half without a three, Loyola-Chicago would go 9-for-16 from deep in the second half. What looked like an easy victory for the Hawks suddenly became a game that was in jeopardy. When a hook shot by the Ramblers’ Miles Rubin went down, the score was 46-42.
The Hawks wouldn’t hang their heads like they would have two months ago. They answered with a quick 9-2 run over the next three minutes, led by Jaiden Glover-Toscano, who had 23 points, and Dasear Haskins, who had a career-high 24 points and has been on a tear lately.
A pair of free throws, followed by a broken play from Glover-Toscano, got the run started. He drove to the basket, and was turned away by Rubin. The ball was knocked around, right into the arms of Glover-Toscano, who made a tough layup, despite being fouled by Loyola’s Alexander Richardson.
On a day where Saint Joseph’s honored its 1981 team coached by Jim Lynam, one that made the Elite Eight before losing to eventual national champion Indiana, led by Isiah Thomas and Bob Knight, Glover-Toscano’s broken play, and-one, was worthy of a “turning garbage into gold” call from Lynam’s old broadcasting partner Marc Zumoff.
It helped spark a stretch where the Hawks would pull away from the Ramblers. It was capped off by a two-handed dunk by Haskins, who made a great cut from the left baseline. Derek Simpson drove to his left and found the cutting Haskins, one of Simpson’s ten assists on the day. Simpson continued to play like an all-league player, as those ten dimes the Rutgers transfer dished out came with just one turnover.
The cut by Haskins was one he had done all season. He has been great at cutting from the corners, when there is a floor general like Simpson who can find you. Donahue has credited his cutting ability, which he attributes to Haskins’ IQ and awareness, as the best on the team. The funny thing is Haskins had never been told to cut before Donahue arrived on campus in the summer.
“Believe it or not, no coach has ever told me to cut,” Haskins explained. “I just listen and do what’s asked of me. Cutting off instincts, I just realized I was good at it. I appreciate Coach for expanding my game.”
Donahue, who constantly refers to Haskins as an “everyday guy,” attributes Haskins’ newfound strength as a product of how he was brought up playing basketball, as well as playing for a loaded high school team at Camden, where he played with former Hawk teammate Rasheer Fleming, now with the Phoenix Suns.
“Kids don’t really learn how to cut,” Donahue said. “I think that’s something we should do more of at the grassroots level,” said Donahue. “This group probably does the best job of cutting off penetration. I’m used to guys cutting and wanting a three. Guys like Dasear and Austin (Williford) really cut off those drives, which is much harder for the defense to guard. Dasear is excellent at it.”
It was a pair of steals on back-to-back possessions by Haskins and Glover-Toscano that really slammed the door shut on the Ramblers, and one that got the crowd at Hagan Arena on its feet. Haskins, who is averaging over 14 points per game and shooting over 48 percent from three over his last eight games, picked the pocket of Rubin, and threw down a thunderous two-handed slam.
“You hung on the rim long enough,” Donahue joked.
“He could have done better,” added Glover-Toscano. “I’ve seen him do way better.”
Haskins was seemingly upstaged by Glover-Toscano, who picked off an errant over-the-top pass from Loyola freshman Caleb Reese. Glover-Toscano raced down the court, shaking off Reese with a nifty behind-the-back dribble, and finished a left-handed layup over the outstretched arms of the Ramblers’ Nic Anderson.
“I don’t know if you guys have seen Nas Reid do a move like that in the NBA, but that’s what it was like,” said Haskins. “It was tough, though.”
“A good bucket,” he added with a smile.
The two guys who scored nearly 50 points between them on Saturday afternoon finished off the game with an exclamation point with their defense. Haskins and Glover-Toscano feed off each other’s energy. The chemistry that the team has developed under Donahue’s tutelage has grown so much in a short time, a big reason why St. Joe’s continues to stack wins in the A-10.
“(Haskins) is an energy guy. He brings it every day,” said Glover-Toscano.
“I heard the bench having energy with us,” Haskins added. “I just wanted to keep feeding off of that and wanted to keep winning.”
With the win, St. Joe’s remains in a top four spot in the A-10, and with that, a coveted double bye that means that the Hawks’ first postseason game would come in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
A gargantuan matchup looms on Wednesday night, when the Hawks host George Mason, who they lost to in Fairfax at the beginning of the month. The Hawks and Patriots are currently tied for third in the A-10, along with Dayton. Wednesday could provide St. Joe’s the opportunity to have a leg up in the hunt to finish in the top end of the league.
That means nothing to Donahue, Haskins, or Glover-Toscano. It is not something discussed internally, even if it is a spot the Hawks were in this time last year, that they ultimately missed out on, heading to the conference tournament as the fifth seed. St. Joe’s is focused on its own growth and trajectory as the regular season winds down, and as March is on the horizon.
“I think we still have a lot to improve on,” said Glover-Toscano. “I think it’s very promising.”
“We don’t look at rankings, or where we’re at. Coach doesn’t ever mention it to us,” said Haskins. “We’re only focused on how we can get better, and our next opponent. We’re focused on us and how we can get better in the game and in practice.”
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