Stars come out to see St. Joseph’s finish its non-league schedule strong
Jameer Nelson and Natasha Cloud were at Hagan Arena, and Sue Bird was the Hawk mascot for a half. Better yet, the Hawks made quick work of Loyola.
Christ Essandoko of St. Joseph's dunks against Loyola of Maryland.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
by Mia Messina
Published
St. Joseph’s coach Billy Lange has made it clear he takes things a game at a time. This approach has been working for the Hawks.
After a road loss to the College of Charleston, St. Joe’s (10-3) ended its nonconference slate on a strong note with a 97-56 win over Loyola (Md.), which fell to 2-11.
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Now, the Hawks are gearing up to visit Rhode Island (5-7) for their first Atlantic 10 game of the season on Wednesday (7 p.m.).
“Each moment has its own identity that you have to be ready for,” Lange said. “Now, I feel better at where we’re standing than I would feel if it was reversed. I’m not gonna lie about that. But it’s going to be different.”
While their conference play may be different than what they’ve experienced so far, if Friday’s game is any indication of what’s to come for the Hawks, things are looking bright.
The St. Joseph's Hawk is filmed before the start of the game. The crowd did not realize it was basketball great Sue Bird inside. They announced in the 2nd half that she was inside the Hawk during the 1st half on Dec. 29,2023. IRead moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Though the crowd was not aware of it, basketball great Sue Bird was the St. Joseph's Hawk for the first half of the game against Loyola of Maryland at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Basketball great Sue Bird does a figure eight on the court during a timeout, It was announced in the 2nd half that she was inside the St. Joseph's Hawk mascot costume during the 1st half on Dec. 29,2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Basketball great Sue Bird (center) flaps her arms as it was announced that she was inside the St. Joseph's Hawk mascot costume during the 1st half on Dec. 29,2023. St. Joseph's greats Jameer Nelson and Natasha Cloud are beside her during the game against Loyola of Maryland at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Basketball great Sue Bird (center) gestures about her sore arems from flapping. It was announced that she was inside the St. Joseph's Hawk mascot costume during the 1st half on Dec. 29,2023. St. Joseph's greats Jameer Nelson and Natasha Cloud are beside her during the game against Loyola of Maryland at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Kacper Klaczek (left) and Cameron Brown (right) of St. Joseph's strip the ball away from Milos Ilic of Loyola of Maryland during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Anthony Finkley (left) of St. Joseph's scrambles for a loose ball with D'Angelo Stines of Loyola of Maryland during the 2nd half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Cameron Brown (right) of St. Joseph's strips the ball away from Milos Ilic of Loyola of Maryland during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Christ Essandoko (right) of St. Joseph's gers his hand tangeled in the net after trying to block a shot by Golden Dike of Loyola of Maryland during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Rasheer Fleming (left) of St. Joseph's dunks against Loyola of Maryland during the 2nd half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Christ Essandoko of St. Joseph's celebrates after a Rasheer Fleming dunk against Loyola of Maryland during the 2nd half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023. Essandoko had been out injured.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Christ Essandoko of St. Joseph's dunks against Loyola of Maryland during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023. Essandoko had been out injured.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
St. Joseph's great Jameer Nelson acknowledges a stating ovation during the game against Loyola of Maryland at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
St. Joseph's great Jameer Nelson is hugged at halftime of the the game against Loyola of Maryland at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023. It was his first appearance at a St. joseph's game in many years.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
St. Joseph's great Jameer Nelson (left) shares a laugh with fellow St. Joe's great and former teammate Marvin O'Connor at halftime of the the game against Loyola of Maryland at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023. It was his first appearance at a St. joseph's game in many years.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
St. Joseph's great Jameer Nelson (right) shares a laugh with Temple great Lynn Greer II at halftime of the the game against Loyola of Maryland at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023. It was his first appearance at a St. joseph's game in many years. Greer's son Lynn Greer III currently plays for St. Joseph's.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
St. Joseph's great Natasha Cloud is acknowledged during the game against Loyola of Maryland at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
St. Joseph's great Natasha Cloud (right) greets former athletic director Don DiJulia during the game against Loyola of Maryland at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Deon Perry (center) of Loyola Maryland tries to go through the defense of Rasheer fleming (left) and Erik Reynolds of St. Joesph's during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Erik Reynolds (left) of St. Joseph's scrambles for a loose ball with D'Angelo Stines of Loyola of Maryland during the 2nd half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Coach Billy Lange of St. Joseph's instructs his team against Loyola of Maryland during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Erik Reynolds (right) of St. Joseph's goes up for a basket against Loyola of Maryland during the 2nd half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Lynn Greer III (left) of St. Joseph's goes up for a layup against Deon Perry (center) and Garrett Brennan of Loyola of Maryland during the 1st half of their game at Hagan Arena on Dec. 29, 2023.Read moreCharles Fox / Staff Photographer
Doing everything right
The turnout at Hagan Arena was high for the holiday weekend, with Jameer Nelson and Natasha Cloud in the house, and Sue Bird in the Hawk mascot costume during the first half.
The atmosphere said it all: St. Joe’s basketball is fun again and expectations are running high.
A 17-3 run in the first half put the Hawks up early, and they maintained a comfortable lead throughout. St. Joe’s shot 47.8% field, including 41.7% on three-pointers (15 for 36). With 20 assists on 33 field goals, Lange called it “an impressive showing.”
“They love to pass the ball. They love to play with each other on the court and then the ball starts hitting second to third to fourth and occasionally fifth sides,” Lange said
For guard Cam Brown, it’s about trust between teammates.
“We all believe in each other,” Brown said. “We all relate to each other. We’re open to threes. Any shot anybody takes you believe in.”
And in a game like Friday’s where six players, including Brown, put up double-digit figures in scoring, it’s easy to develop trust.
“What I like is that our guys are united. I like that you see development out of certain guys. I like that. The groups that you put on the floor, tried to do the things that we asked them to do,” Lange said. “So from that standpoint, I feel really good. Whatever our readiness is for the A-10 that is yet to be seen.”
