City Six basketball roundup: St. Joe’s men go cold in loss at Duquesne, La Salle men lose at VCU, Drexel women roll past Northeastern

St. Joseph’s has had some ugly games this season, but the first half of Saturday’s contest against Duquesne ranks near the top. The Hawks couldn’t buy a bucket even if it was on layaway.

At one point in the first half, Duquesne was shooting 37% and led by 13 points. A 37% shooting percentage would be second-to-last in the Atlantic 10.

The first-half deficit grew to 23 points. The Hawks’ offense improved drastically in the second half, but the hole was too deep. Duquesne defeated St. Joe’s, 67-50. The game was played at La Roche University as the Dukes await the renovation of their home arena.

St. Joe’s (1-14, 0-8 A-10) shot 22% in the first half. More than half of the shots came from beyond the arc. Most of the attempts were either long threes or contested twos. It didn’t help that Duquesne (6-6, 5-5) has a game-changing defender in Michael Hughes. He changed shots and made it difficult for the Hawks to convert near the basket. He had three of the Dukes’ nine blocks.

“When you’re missing open shots when you execute well for a young team, it can be deflating at times,” head coach Billy Lange said. “Our defense was good all game, but we could not make open shots.”

The second half was a drastic shift, offensively. St. Joe’s shot the ball better and attacked the paint. Rahmir Moore had more second-half assists (4) than the Hawks had as a team in the first half (three).

St. Joe’s got within 16 with 7 minutes, 31 seconds left, but couldn’t get closer because of Marcus Weathers. The preseason second-team A-10 selection scored a season-high 24 points and added 12 rebounds.

“I’m choosing to look at this game through the lens of the second half,” Lange said. “We won the second half. We did a lot of things well in both halves; just the results were better in the second half.”

Taylor Funk led the Hawks with 15 points. The team shot 28% overall, including 7-for-28 from three. It was the lowest field goal percentage of the season.

The Hawks will host St. Bonaventure on Wednesday.

Saturday’s game between VCU and La Salle featured two teams who like to pressure opponents relentlessly. Both schools are top five in the Atlantic 10 in blocks, steals, and forced turnovers.

The difference is that VCU is No. 1 in each of those categories. La Salle’s defense kept the game close, but the Rams only needed a few timely shots and a few mini runs to create separation.

VCU closed the first half on a 16-5 run and used its pressure to build a 16-point lead. The Explorers handled the pressure well early but broke down in the second half. VCU (12-4, 5-2 A-10) defeated La Salle, 73-62, at the Siegel Center.

The Explorers had eight turnovers in the first half. They tied that number midway through the second half and finished with 18.

“The game came down to our turnovers and then 50-50 balls,” head coach Ashley Howard said.

Sherif Kenney led the Explorers (7-10, 4-6) with 20 points. He scored 15 of those in the first half. Jack Clark scored 12 points and Jhamir Brickus added 11.

Nah’Shon Hyland has been one of the A-10′s top performers and he showed why Saturday. The Explorers often forced him into difficult off-the-dribble shots, but he finished with 24 points and made 11 of 12 free throws.

La Salle forced its share of turnovers, too. The Rams forced 18 and the Explorers created 17. The difference was VCU created more live-ball turnovers that resulted in points. VCU had a 22-17 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Explorers are second in the A-10 in three-pointers made and third in three-point percentage. When they broke VCU’s pressure, there were opportunities, but it was tough look. La Salle shot 6-for-22 on threes.

“I felt we got some wide-open clean looks that just didn’t drop for us,” Howard said. “If one or two of those baskets goes down, I think it changes the complexion of the game. We kept battling and our guys put up a great fight. I trust that in the next game, we’ll hit a couple of those.”

It was announced shortly after the game that La Salle will host St. Louis at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Drexel is known more for its stifling defense, but the offense was on fire against Northeastern at the Cabot Center.

The Dragons led from start to finish in a 79-64 victory. Four Dragons scored double figures, led by Hannah Nihill’s 21 points. Keishana Washington (17), Maura Hendrixson (15), and Mariah Leonard (12) were the others.

Drexel (8-4, 5-2 Colonial Athletic Association) shot 56.6% and made seven threes. The defense uncharacteristically allowed Northeastern (3-7, 2-5) to shoot 51%, but it forced 18 turnovers.

Drexel and Northeastern meet again on Sunday at noon.

Temple dropped its first of a two-game weekend set against Tulane. The Owls were defeated, 80-44, at Devlin Fieldhouse.

Mia Davis (14 points) and Alexa Williamson (13) were Temple’s leading scorers. Rayniah Walker added a career-high 10 points off the bench. Freshman Jasha Clinton’s six-game double-digit scoring streak was snapped. She had five points on 2-for-12 shooting.

The Owls (5-6, 5-3 American Athletic Conference) led, 35-34, at the half. They scored nine points in the second half while Tulane (9-5, 5-4) erupted for a 30-point third quarter. The two schools will play again Sunday at noon.